A spokesperson for Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) says windy conditions last weekend certainly prevented crews from being able to tackle icy highways.
A low-pressure system dumped snow on southern Manitoba. However, in many locations, the precipitation started as rain before turning to snow. As a result, many roadways became slick.
Tara Liske is Executive Director of Highway Regional Operations. She explains that the province has a policy in place, detailing such things as how quickly highways will be plowed and when or if sanding and salting will occur.
Liske says all Manitoba roads are grouped into one of three levels for winter operations. Level 1, which includes all major routes such as highways 1 and 75, is typically plowed and cleaned within four hours of the end of a storm or winter event.
Level 2, which is the regional highway network of surfaced roads, including Provincial Roads (PR). The province's policy is for these Provincial Roads to be cleared after all of the Level 1 roads are done and within eight hours of when the plowing started on these Level 2 roads.
Level 3 is also part of the regional highway network, but includes gravel, access and service roads. These roads are typically the last to be plowed and cleaned and are usually completed within 48 hours of a storm or winter event, during normal working hours.
Liske says last weekend they had staff working throughout the day on Friday. She notes some of their employees worked until 11 pm. Then on Saturday, they had staggered shifts starting at 4 am, 5 am, and 6 am. Liske says this allowed them to provide coverage for a longer portion of Saturday and Sunday.
According to Liske, some of their Level 3 roads were probably not plowed until Monday. Then, because there was more snow that fell on Monday, this created icy conditions on the province's highway system. She adds sand and salt trucks were back at it on Tuesday.
Also, adding to the ice is the fact that windy conditions on Saturday did not allow for salting to happen as early as what would be desired. Liske says because of the 50 kilometre per hour winds, it was only later in the day on Saturday when salting trucks hit the roads.
"So that delayed clearing some of the ice off of our major network," she adds.
According to the province's policy, salt is used to melt snow and ice when the road surface temperature is between zero and -10 degrees Celsius. When road surfaces are below -10 degrees, a salt/ sand mixture is used. Liske says at -18 degrees, salt is no longer considered effective.
Liske says as of noon on Tuesday, most Level 1 roads in the province are considered clear and bare. She adds some of the Level 2 roads were blown in with snow and ice Tuesday morning and so crews were out there removing snow and treating with salt and sand.
Liske encourages motorists to drive to the conditions. She notes the province aims to update its 5-1-1 web page between three and four times throughout the day and more often if crews are witnessing a change in conditions.
If you happen to meet up with a piece of snow clearing equipment, Liske urges motorists to stay back and give them room. MTI does not encourage motorists to pass these vehicles, as their efforts could reduce visibility in the passing lane.
MTI maintains 19,000 kilometres of the province's highway system. About 400 staff operate out of 46 maintenance yards across the province. MTI operates a fleet of approximately 340 truck plows, motor graders and loaders. MTI can mobilize private contractors and their snow clearing equipment if required.
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