Ever since the snowfall started on Nov. 9, the city has been working hard to clear priority streets.
“The streets that have been cleared up to (Friday) — all the areas where we store snow — they have all been cleared and plowed and snow removed from them,” said Duane Grado, public works manager with the City of Moose Jaw. “They were done within four days and that’s a midnight shift.”
Additionally, all Priority 1 streets — main roadways in the city — have been completed. He said some of those streets include Thatcher Drive, Main Street, Coteau Street West, Manitoba Expressway and any streets that “actually bring you into and out of the city.”
On Friday, the city worked on bus routes and Collector 2 streets, which are the streets that link the city from residential to the arterial streets. Those streets make up about 40 per cent of the city.
“In other words, when the average citizen comes off their block of where they live, within one or two blocks they’re on a collector street,” said Grado. “Quite a few of those streets are bus routes. Those are the streets that we’re starting (Friday) and hope to have done by Monday night.”
The midnight shifts lasted for the first four days. He said some crew members have been working for 12 or 13 days in a row to clear streets. He added since the city started clearing streets last Friday until Thursday, the city has incurred a cost of $110,000.
The budget for this amount of snowfall is $100,000 and Grado said by the end of the weekend, the cost incurred would be between 50 and 60 per cent higher — around $150,000 or more.
For more information, see an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
Right on Joe.Snow removal didn't start until at least Sunday. I was out each day during the storm and never saw one plow and that's on the primary routes. Safety of the community isn't a concern for the city, if it was, snowplows would of been out a lot earlier. I think Mr Grado must be inhaling too much fumes of his snowplows idling in the garages doing nothing.