SASKATOON — The City of Saskatoon and its partner contractors are expected to work overtime as the weather worsens due to the winter storm that’s affecting the region. The weather condition began with freezing rain Monday night and with snowfall throughout Tuesday.
City Roadways, Fleet, and Support director Goran Saric said their crews spent Monday night spreading salt in major expressways, on and off ramps, and bridge decks to prevent the formation of ice as temperature is expected to drop to -9 degrees Celsius Tuesday evening.
“Throughout [Tuesday], we expect to see lots of snow and strong rains which will create challenging driving conditions into the evening. We expect reduced visibility on Saskatoon streets due to a combination of snow fall expected to be at blizzard like conditions with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow and winds gusting to 80 kilometres per hour,” said Saric during Tuesday’s snowfall event media briefing.
“In terms of the plans, as the snow begins, city crews will plow Circle Drive and the on and off ramps until the snow stops. During the [snow] event, the focus will be on keeping all other lanes open on high traffic area streets, as well as sanding and salting low and high-speed roads. High-traffic intersections will also be focused on keeping these main traffic routes open.
Saric, whose job includes overseeing the roads winter maintenance and snow operations, added they are also looking to improve their snow removal operations after the city coughed up $3 million to clear the roads in last year’s blizzard.
“We are certainly looking at ways to improve our snow removal operations on a continuous basis by introducing technology such as GPS and some other apps that we are currently exploring, and we've also learned a number of lessons from the last years as well. So continuous improvement and introducing lessons learned on a continuous basis is something that we do all the time.”
He added that city and contractor crews will start clearing snow as soon as the snowfall stops with the expected accumulation between 10 to 15 centimetres. “Snow will be piled and stored in the medians, parking lanes, and on boulevards.”
“Those that will be cleared first are Saskatoon’s busiest streets like freeways and major roads … Again, a reminder for businesses and residents that they're responsible to clear the sidewalks in front of their property.”
He is also reminding motorists to be patient, slow down if needed, stay alert while driving, and travel only if necessary.
“Even though this even is not expected to be like the blizzard in November last year, you should reconsider any unnecessary travel as the combination of freezing rain, heavy snow accumulation, and high winds may lead to dangerous driving conditions.
“If travel is necessary, I would advise everyone to adjust for driving conditions. Please stay a safe distance behind and prepare to stop quickly. Some traffic signs may be covered with snow as well. So, drivers should practice extra caution.”
