SASKATOON — The weekend’s on and off snowfall has resulted in a total accumulation of seven centimetres, meeting the City’s threshold to declare its fourth snow event of the winter.
The City calls in contractors to help grade all priority streets quickly when snowfall is at five centimetres or greater.
Contractors also assist in clearing snow from sidewalks, pathways and walkways on bridges. Priority streets include the busiest streets in Saskatoon such as freeways, arterials, collectors and school zones.
Although most of the freezing rain predicted for Saskatoon did not occur, the City still recommends drivers and pedestrians to be cautious on streets and sidewalks.
Drivers should adjust their driving for the road conditions, slow down and use extra caution, leave extra room between cars and watch for blue and yellow flashing lights on the City’s road equipment.
With the snow, fluctuating temperatures and a return to the -20 C forecast, City crews will continue to monitor road conditions and apply de-icing materials to improve traction along priority streets, bridge decks and busy intersections.
With higher-than-average snowfalls so far this winter, the snow piles are getting higher along priority streets.
However, there’s ongoing removal of the piles and with the changing weather it will be interrupted as staff are reassigned to ensure driving lanes on priority streets are in good condition.
Residential streets will be graded just before the spring melt if the snowpack on streets is 15 centimetres thick.
This will help prevent deep ruts as the snow softens. The graded snow would be stored in piles in the parking lane and would not be removed.
Learn more about winter road maintenance at saskatoon.ca/snow and visit saskatoon.ca/respectworkzones.
In other news, Spadina Crescent will be closed between Queen and 33rd streets on Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 10:30 a.m. for manhole repair work.
Detours will be in place guiding motorists around the work zone and the project is expected to take three hours to complete.
Saskatoon Transit may be affected by these detours. Transit service alerts and real-time bus information is available on third-party apps like Transit and Google Maps Transit.
For more information about current road restrictions and construction, visit saskatoon.ca/construction.
