Being nestled in Southern Alberta, it really isn’t that shocking when the snow falls in any month of the year. And in some cases, as fast as it falls – it also melts. But when that snow falls and falls and falls, how is it tackled by the road crews of Chestermere?
Here is some information that will shed some light.
It all starts with some pre-work that can be done should a major snowfall be in the forecast. Road crews monitor the weather very closely and can do some anti-icing on the roads if there is a major snowfall headed our way.
Once that snow is flying, the policy is that if it looks like Chestermere will receive 2cm or more of snow, trucks will be dispatched. This means that even if it starts snowing in the middle of the night, crews will go out between 4-5 am to begin clearing, with the goal of having the primary snow routes cleared by 8am. Crews work on priority 1 routes first and once they are passable will move onto secondary routes.
With regards to what is used on our streets, once the primary and secondary routes have been plowed to an extent where sand will not be plowed off, crews apply a sand and salt mixture (5-6% road salt). If the temperatures are below -10, they pre-wet the material with calcium chloride mixture which helps with quicker melting in very cold temperatures.
So, the snow has fallen and it’s been plowed and roads sanded….now, where to put all that snow? The policy is that crews do not usually haul away snow but pile it into ditches and to the side of the road. As last year was a particularly hard winter and crews had very few days where the snow melted, they did do some hauling as well and it was dumped in a variety of places (i.e. on the north side of Rainbow Road in the field).
With winter just getting started and we all know it will likely be a long, cold one…the town wants to remind residents to please drive with caution and allow for extra time to get places and to drive carefully when passing or following the plow trucks.
For more information on the Town of Chestermere snow removal process, please visit http://www.chestermere.ca/Index.aspx?NID=425
