SASKATOON – The City of Saskatoon has adopted a new approach to clearing snow from bridges and overpasses in the city.
The move comes after snow packed along a barrier on the Circle Drive North Bridge contributed to a vehicle jumping the barrier and plunging into the South Saskatchewan River.
“The city is extremely thankful the woman involved in this incident was able to get to safety without major injury,” said Pat Hyde, the city’s director of public works.
On Monday, city council was informed an “aggressive approach” would be taken for snow clearing on bridges and overpasses and is now using new procedures for regular clearing to minimize the accumulation of snow along guardrails and barriers.
“When a major snow fall occurs, snow is first cleared along Circle Drive, including the bridges and overpasses because of the high traffic and speed,” Hyde said.
“Snow will be temporarily stored along the barriers in a safe manner, with crews returning to remove it from the high-traffic bridges within 48 hours.”
Prior to the change, there was a maximum height allowance before the snow was removed.
Starting Wednesday evening, city crews will begin removing accumulated snow from Circle Drive, beginning with the outside lanes.
A grader and front-loader will plow the snow into a ridge with a snow blower following to remove it with trucks either hauling the snow to storage facilities or placing it at either end of the bridge away from the roadway.
Crews will start on the Circle Drive North and South Bridges and the Sid Buckwold Bridge, followed by 10 high-speed overpasses, the Broadway and University bridges and then the remaining overpasses.
Signage will be in place to direct traffic around the work zone.
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