Winter thaw keeping Saskatoon city crews busy, warm during melt

The mid-winter thaw is keeping city crews warm as they work to keep up with the melting and refreezing on city streets and sidewalks.

A statement from the City of Saskatoon said that the city is trying to focus on areas affected by melting, refreezing and limited snow storage.

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Speaking with Cam LeClaire, the director of roadways for the City of Saskatoon, he told 650 CKOM that it’s important to have crews out monitoring conditions during a melt like this.

“Making sure that we’re taking care of icy conditions where they might be moving snow around, if it’s affecting drainage and making sure people can get from A to B,” LeClaire said.

He called this a “pretty significant” mid-winter thaw.

“It certainly has been sticking around a little bit longer than we would typically see with any warm weather in January and February,” he commented. “We’re expecting to be in this type of condition for about a week here, which is definitely atypical for this time of year.”

Loose snow and slush are being removed from priority streets, and grading and snow removal continue as conditions allow, according to the City’s statement. The progress of the work might change or pause on some streets when significant melting is happening.

Windrows and catch basins are also being monitored for drainage issues. When water flow is restricted, boiler trucks and graders are available to respond.

LeClaire said 60 crew members were out on Thursday, responding to the melt. The crew is mostly managing equipment and taking care of drainage, he said. The amount of effort the city is investing in this thaw is based on the conditions throughout the warming-up period.

City crews are focusing on high-speed locations and anywhere water or drainage might be affecting a priority street, LeClaire explained.

“We really want to make sure that we’re keeping things safe for people, and so people aren’t having to drive through puddles that may ice up and that kind of thing,” he said.

Potholes on priority streets are also being addressed with cold mix patching on a case-by-case basis. Potholes can form because of temperature fluctuation.

“With warm temperatures expected to continue into next week, crews anticipate a broader melt and reduced snowpack,” the city’s statement read.

Rut levelling started Thursday

Deep ruts and water pooling have developed on residential streets across the city, according to a city statement.

To address the problem, it said a city-wide rut levelling on local streets with city crews and contractor support is underway.

“The work is expected to take approximately 5 days to complete city-wide with priority street snow removal to be paused,” the city said.

The city encouraged residents to report any concerns about snow or rutting. (650 CKOM file photo)

Around 24 graders have been mobilized on the road in residential areas based on conditions and coordinated with the collection schedules.

“Crews will move into other affected neighbourhoods when the collection schedules allow,” it said.

The city asks to give road equipment the space they need to operate and to watch for blue and amber flashing lights.

If a resident has concerns about a specific location, they can contact the City’s customer care centre. Residents can also report the locations of potholes online.

LeClaire said the City has had a fluctuating number of complaints throughout the day.

“We’ve certainly had enough to keep everyone busy and active, managing the thaw over today and kind of throughout the warm temperatures we’ve been seeing,” he said.