With winter fast approaching, city crews have begun to prepare for snow clearing routes, according to Norm Mack the roads and drainage manager for the City of Estevan’s public works division.
The city received its first taste of winter on Oct. 3, receiving two to four centimetres of snow. The snow caused dangerous driving conditions in the early morning, but warmer temperatures resulted in the majority of the snow melting throughout the day.
“For the most part there wasn’t a big issue with any of the snow that we received in the past week,” said Mack.
“We did have to deploy a couple of our sand trucks in the morning because the temperatures were low enough that some ice started to build up but other than that we didn’t really have to put any effort into moving snow because the temperatures rose in the afternoon.”
Mack noted that although it’s still early in October, crews are already fully prepared to tackle the challenges that the winter months can cause, and added that crews and machinery are already on standby to deal with any issues in the coming months.
“With the weather that has been happening in Alberta and particularly Calgary, we are kind of expecting that we may see some of that come our way as well,” said Mack.
“We’ve got all of our equipment ready within the last few weeks and the crews are all ready to go. We just want to caution people to lower their speed if they are driving on winter condition roads. As always the first snow fall people tend to forget that it can be icy so everyone just needs to remember to travel safely.”
Individuals are urged to prepare for winter driving conditions before the conditions arise. Winter tires are recommended for all vehicles, as all-season and summer tires do not provide the same traction on winter roads. Drivers are also encouraged to travel with a portable shovel, snowbrush, gloves and blankets in their vehicle in case of any emergency scenarios. A first aid kit is also recommended in all vehicles.
“We really just want to urge caution. It’s that time of the year again and there will be icy and dangerous conditions arising so remember to slow down when driving,” said Mack.
“We’re not taking anything for granted, we’re watching the weather, we’re standing guard and we are ready to go to work if need be. It’s early to be starting winter snow removal but if that’s what we have to do then we will do it.”
