The City of Montreal will launch its first snow loading operation of the season on Tuesday evening. With significant amounts of rain forecast this week, the priority will be to prevent major thoroughfares and sidewalks from turning into ice rinks.
Posted at 11:49 a.m.
Updated at 12:13 p.m.
“It’s a real race against time that we find ourselves in, because we know that a cold front is coming on Wednesday. Our objective is really to prioritize arterial streets and sidewalks, ensuring that the most busy places, but also the catch basins and the rays at the intersection of the streets, are well cleared,” explains the spokesperson. administrative speech of the City, Philippe Sabourin.
The metropolis provided an update on snow removal activities on Tuesday, with around fifteen centimeters on the ground, due to two snowfalls that occurred in quick succession last week. Loading will begin at 7 p.m. in all districts.
In Quebec, the majority of cities simply clear snow, pushing it to the side of the street or blowing it onto the ground. Denser, Montreal must remove the white powder using an army of trucks, an operation which turns out to be much longer and more expensive.
According to Mr. Sabourin, the main challenge will lie in the fact that the coming days will bring a “weather cocktail” and “rather malicious” temperatures in the region.
“In the short term, we expect up to 30 millimeters of rain and a mercury of around 5 degrees, which will encourage melting. But then the cold will set in, so we’re doing everything we can to do as much as possible in the next two days,” he explains.
Over four days maximum
However, loading could be spread over the next four days, depending on the sectors of the metropolis and the priorities of the districts.
However, authorities hope to be helped by the rain, which will melt the snow more quickly. Some 3,000 blue-collar workers will be on the ground, with 2,500 snow removal machines. The Montreal network totals approximately 10,000 kilometers of roadway.
Montreal is also calling on citizens to clear sidewalks and respect parking bans, using its Info-Neige application, to allow teams to proceed as smoothly as possible. Around 8,000 free parking spaces are available across the island to help residents.
Environment Canada, for its part, issued a special weather alert for the metropolitan region on Tuesday. “As the ground is frozen and has reduced absorption capacity, significant quantities of water could accumulate on roads and other areas. A significant increase in the flow and level of certain watercourses is also likely to occur,” maintains the federal agency.
It adds that the drop in mercury expected during the night from Wednesday to Thursday “could lead to rapid freezing of the accumulated water”.
“Roads may become slippery, causing difficult road conditions and transportation delays Thursday morning. In addition, the drop in mercury will be accompanied by very strong winds which could cause damage to trees or certain equipment and snow showers which, in addition to reducing visibility, could leave a few centimeters in places,” we conclude. .
