IMPROVEMENTS TO SNOW & ICE PROGRAM – MADE BETTER WINTER ROADS

Spring is officially here and with that, the City of Saskatoon’s winter road maintenance season is coming to a close. Crews worked 24/7 sanding, salting, grading, plowing and removing snow from streets to keep drivers moving. Crews will continue to respond if it snows in the coming weeks.

“We are always at the mercy of Mother Nature, but with the introduction of new pilot programs, improved services and greater efficiencies, our high-traffic roads have been in the best winter condition we’ve seen,” says Pat Hyde, Director of Public Works. “Crews have dealt with six snow events this winter, where more than 5 cm of snow fell, and on each occasion priority streets were graded, at least once well within the targeted timeframe for each event.”

The City’s goal is to grade Priority 1 streets within 12 hours after a snowstorm ends, Priority 2 streets within 36 hours, and Priority 3 streets within 72 hours. This past winter, as a result of new maintenance area configuration, the average was 65 hours for grading all priority streets after a snow event.

Winter road maintenance results:

• More than 13,000 tandem truckloads of snow removed
• More than 25,000 tonnes of sand applied
• More than 120 tonnes of cold mix asphalt used to temporarily repair potholes
• 52 water main breaks were repaired restoring services for residents

New Programs:

The City initiated two pilot programs this winter to improve driving conditions on high-traffic roads.

The new de-icing product called Caliber M1000 was tested to soften and break the ice bond on priority streets; it was used at temperatures below -14 where salt is no longer effective. This reduced the amount of sand needed to be applied by 28% resulting in approximately $250,000 in savings. This will also result in less overall material to clean up as part of the spring street sweeping program.

Initial results of the pre-wetting pilot program, where sand is sprayed with a liquid chemical de-icer before being applied to the road, were also positive. The wet heavy sand adheres better to the road and provides enhanced traction for vehicles.

Other improvements:

• The 18-vehicle snow train was activated to remove collected snow along the edges of Circle Drive, bridges and overpasses. This was performed after every snow event and kept the barriers and guardrails clear of snow build up.
• Snow piles were removed from school zones more frequently and removal areas were expanded to reduce traffic congestion and enhance student safety at student pick-up and drop-off locations.  As a further measure of student safety awareness these operations were performed during off school hours at night and weekends.
• The use of private contractors for snow grading was expanded to be more efficient and cost-effective.  Along with an improved deployment of City crews these were directly applicable to the time savings for meeting 72 hour goal.
• An additional snow storage site was added in the southeast quadrant of the city to increase the number of sites to four.  All sites were open to the public and snow hauling contractors. 
• Snow grading was enhanced in the Business Improvement Districts and industrial areas improving access to businesses.

“This is just the start of better winter roads in Saskatoon. We will continue to build on this year’s progress into the future,” says Hyde. “While our focus shifts towards our spring street sweeping and pothole patching programs, we are mindful that the last snowfall typically occurs in April and has been known to happen as late as May. Crews will be ready for whatever comes our way.”

For more information about the City’s Snow & Ice programs visit saskatoon.ca/snow. Stay tuned for street sweeping and pothole patching updates and schedules at saskatoon.ca/betterroads.