Snowed under!

By Christy Marsters

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

Hants County was hit by yet another severe storm Feb. 3 and it left behind a huge pile of snow to be cleared.

The county was hit with more than 20 centimetres of snow, driven by gusting winds.

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal communications advisor Patricia Jreige said there is a set standard for road clearing during winter storms and it starts with removal on 101 series highways; to have them cleared eight hours after any storms.

It’s important to clear the highways first because it’s the route first responders use in an emergency, Jreige said. “We have to ensure this flow of traffic is maintained.”

Then, other main roads with lower traffic volume and local roads with higher traffic levels are cleared, Jreige noted. “People can always call 511 for highway conditions.”

Local road conditions can also be check before travelling by calling 1-888-432-3233.

The number one thing people should do prior to leaving the house in bad weather is to check out these road conditions, Jreige added. “And, if they do need to be out and driving in bad weather, people need to adjust their speed accordingly to conditions.”

Windsor Public Works director Don Beatty said during the Feb. 3 storm many local business shut down early and people got off the streets fairly quickly once the snow started, which made the job of removing snow a lot easier for Public Works crews.

This intense storm brought a heavy snowfall but the crews did really great job and seemed to keep ahead of the snow, Beatty said. “But, we’re accustom to doing this.”

It’s been a rather taxing winter, with eight or nine major snowfalls so far, Beatty said. “We’ve just tried to keep main routes open…along with the road leading out to the hospital.”

It is most important people don’t park cars on the streets during a snow storm as it impedes with snow removal work and also for people to remember there is a lot of heavy equipment moving around in storms, Beatty said. “People have to be careful.”

Hantsport Public Works superintendent Peter Johnston said that during the recent storm his crews used a salt truck, a plow, a backhoe with a plow, two holders for sidewalk snow removal and a three-quarter-ton truck with a plow to push through heavy snow.

At the start of the storm, Feb. 3, there were five guys out plowing until 10 p.m. that night and then three stayed on to continue plowing, Johnston said. “We plowed all night.”

Then the two who were relieved at 10 p.m. got up again at 5 a.m. to plow sidewalks, Johnston said. “It was a bad storm… There was lots of snow and it was hard to move.”

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