City crews will continue de-icing on priority streets where icy conditions exist.
Priority One roadways and bridge decks will continue to be the main area of focus.
A City spokesperson says the timing of the snowfall did not allow crews to spread salt on all priority streets before the Monday morning commute—a task that usually takes about 12 hours. The salt could not be applied before the snow, because without any moisture, the majority of the salt would have been blown off the road surface by traffic.
There is a chance some icy conditions will develop overnight with temperatures remaining below zero.
The rest of the City of Saskatoon news release is below:
Beginning at 3 a.m. City of Saskatoon crews were applying salt to Priority 1 streets as the snow began to fall, and remain on the go today, focusing on Circle Drive and continuing to manage the road conditions on priority streets.
“Crews focused on Circle drive and other high-speed streets, as these are the streets where collisions due to icy conditions have the potential to be the most serious,” says Goran Saric, Director of Roadways, Fleet and Support. “Bridge decks were also an area of focus.”
The timing of the snowfall did not allow crews to spread salt on all priority streets before the morning commute. It takes up to 12 hours to apply de-icing material to all priority streets in Saskatoon. Additionally, spreading salt in advance of the overnight snowfall on dry pavement would not have been effective. This is because without any moisture, the majority of the salt would have been blown off the road surface by traffic.
There is a chance that some icy conditions will develop overnight, as Environment & Climate Change Canada forecasts temperatures to drop further overnight and stay below freezing for the remainder of the week. Crews will be out on the streets continuously to monitor and address conditions as they change.
Drivers should adjust their driving for the road conditions and leave extra room and time for their commute. We understand the inconvenience that the first snowfall a few hours before the morning commute and icy driving conditions create. We ask for everyone’s patience as crews work to restore normal winter driving conditions on City streets.
Please watch for blue and amber flashing lights on road maintenance equipment and leave room for the operators to do their work.
Learn about winter road maintenance at saskatoon.ca/snow. Stay in the snow with the Snow & Ice Report at saskatoon.ca/snowreport.
(Above photo: City of Saskatoon/Twitter/X)
