THUNDER BAY — Even as they complete the cleanup from the most recent winter storm, City of Thunder Bay road crews are gearing up for another wallop from Mother Nature.
Environment Canada's snowfall warning says the city will receive another 15 to 25 centimetres between midnight tonight and Thursday night.
The city's Infrastructure and Operations department issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying "the Roads section is working hard to manage winter control conditions. All resources are currently cleaning up from the event Monday and will be preparing for the upcoming forecasted snowfall."
The advisory noted the city's plowing standards:
- plowing of arterial and collector roads will commence after 2 AM, once snow depths of 5 cm or more have accumulated. Transit routes will be given priority
- Plowing of local roadways will commence once all arterial and collector routes have been plowed, and snow depths of 10 cm or more have accumulated.
Brad Adams, manager of the roads section, said "Under the road maintenance objectives, the roads section is to prioritize plowing and clearing of roads ahead of snow removal" operations:
- Snow pick-up, blowing or benching will continue starting with arterial roadways to restore traffic capacity, only after arterial, collector and local roadways have been plowed
Adams reiterated that "All manpower and equipment that perform snow removal operations are needed to address plowing first, then removal of snow from major roadways."
The city's statement also noted that city crews are "working hard" to remove snow from around fire hydrants, and residents can help by not blocking access to hydrants and by not piling snow on top of them.
