With temperatures above freezing and snow on roads melting away for the first time this month, AIM Roads is looking ahead to flooding concerns.
According to a Facebook post by the highways maintenance contractor, the warmer temperatures are creating slushy conditions and the risk of water drainage problems. Before too much of the slush can melt away into puddles, AIM’s crews are removing compact snow and slush blocking places for it to drain off roadways.
The warming trend is the first major break in snow accumulation since the storm that dumped on the area on Dec. 31.
According to AIM, they will be using the reprieve to get to work using graders to widen the usable parts of roads and also get rid of slush and compact snow.
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“Crews are working road by road, block by block. Please help us by ensuring vehicles are parked off the roads to allow us to create as much space as possible,” asks AIM.
According to data from Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI), snowfall recorded at some of their weather stations in the area totaled more than 200 per cent of the 10-year average. At their Malakwa station, located alongside the Trans-Canada Highway, snow accumulation has been above average for every day since Dec 11. The depth of the snow has exceeded the maximum recorded between 2007 and 2018 for every day since the Dec. 31 storm.
Monitoring stations at Enderby and Squilax locations have recorded similarly above-average snow depths.
Temperatures are expected to stay above freezing during the day through Monday, Jan. 27, but periods of snow are also in the forecast.
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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