Public works crews in urban and rural municipalities across the region are working overtime this week clearing roadways in the wake of a massive snowstorm.
At least 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of the white stuff fell on Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3. The snowfall, combined with high winds, plugged streets and created massive drifts.
The RM of Corman Park posted on its website that it is currently utilizing its full resources to clear major roads.
“All paved roads, excluding hamlet paved roads, are anticipated to be cleared within one day,” stated the RM post. “School bus routes are anticipated to be cleared within two days,” while hamlet roads could take up to three days.
Grid roads in the RM of Corman Park will be cleared based on their priority and traffic volume, with all grid roads expected to be cleared within three days.
The City of Warman posted on social media that its public works crews “battled poor visibility” on Sunday, March 3, but were working overtime in an effort to keep up with the heavy snowfall. They were back on the job beginning at 4:00 a.m. on Monday, March 4, focusing on the main arterial and collector roads to ensure access for emergency vehicles.
“The plan will be to push snow to the gutters to speed up the process of opening up roadways,” stated the City of Warman social media post. “This will affect on-street parking but is the quickest way to get to all roads in the city.”
The City of Martensville is also digging out from under the white stuff. In a social media post on Sunday, March 3, Martensville City Manager Tanya Garost said snow clearing of primary arterial and collector streets continued over the weekend.
“We are thankful to our crews that have worked tirelessly through the weekend to help ensure access could be maintained to infrastructure and emergency services though the largest storm this winter season,” said Garost in her post. “Going forward we hope residents can help each other dig out and also show patience with our crews as we move on to next stages of snow removal.”
City administrations in both centres are encouraging residents to avoid any unnecessary travel until conditions improve.
The heavy accumulation of snow means that residential streets won’t be seeing a plow for a while.
The City of Martensville noted in its social media post that “residential streets remain snowed-in, creating uncertain driving conditions. The priority through significant snow events is to ensure major roadways remain open to provide access and ease of travel for emergency services. Once snowing has stopped and priority streets are open, crews will begin to assess and move into residential areas to begin opening up these areas. Snow pickups throughout the city will be scheduled at a later date, commencing with priority areas and will be posted ahead of time.”