Road, sidewalk clearing progressing as fast as the city can - Tbnewswatch.com

THUNDER BAY – The city continues to clean up after a snow storm dumped more than 40 centimetres on Thunder Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ian Spoljarich, acting roads manager for the City of Thunder Bay, said it’s been slow and steady, with so much snow down and warmer-than-usual temperatures following the storm.

“We are making progress,” he said.

“It’s tough for equipment to plow the snow as we planned. Some of our equipment is getting stuck, but we’re going through as we can and trying to open up roads for motorists.”

Rising temperatures are leading to some of the snow starting to melt, but Spoljarich said he doesn’t believe enough of it will melt away to negate the need to plow.

“The warm weather is going to create slush and create a mess and maybe some more hazards for motorists,” he said.

The city has a couple of crews out on Thursday morning working to clear any frozen catch basins and drainage issues, on top of routine snow clearance.

As for sidewalks, work began soon after the snow stopped, but it will take some time to get to them all, Spoljarich said.

“Time-wise, it’s kind of changed. We’re doing the best we can, but it’s just slow going with the amount of snow. It’s heavy and wet and it’s hard to find the curbs and the sidewalks,” Spoljarich said.

Thankfully, most motorists have been doing their part to help the city do its job.

“Everyone’s doing great and they understand what ‘Roads’ is dealing with right now. They’re trying to stay off the roads if they can,” he said. “But some people have to get to places and we do have some stuck cars on the side of roads. We’re doing our best to help them get out by plowing the road.”

Spoljarich said the plan for Thursday is to continue plowing roads, with a focus on those non-arterial roads that may not yet have had a first pass of a plow.

Environment Canada is calling for a 30 per cent chance of flurries or rain showers on Friday. The high for Thursday is expected to reach 6 C.

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Road, sidewalk clearing progressing as fast as the city can - Tbnewswatch.com
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