City of Toronto ready for winter snow clearing operations

WATCH: Toronto city councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong lays out the guidelines for snowplows and salt trucks during the winter of 2014-2015.

TORONTO – City officials say they are fully prepared and ready to tackle this season’s snow clearing and winter maintenance operations.

“The city has about 600 snow plows, 200 salt trucks, and 300 sidewalk plows ready to take on the winter,” said Public Works and Infrastructure Committee Chair Denzil Minnan-Wong during a press conference Thursday.

“Our main focus again this year is to keep the main roads clear for TTC and emergency vehicles.”

The city says it offers 24-hour continuous patrols during the winter time to check road conditions and pavement temperature.

City officials say as soon as the snow begins, a fleet of salt trucks are sent out to expressways and main roads followed by local roads and laneways.

Plowing begins on expressways once two centimeters of snow has accumulated and on main roads after five centimeters.

Crews begin plowing local roads after the snow accumulation reaches eight centimeters.

“It takes between 14 and 16 hours for the plows to clear all the roads in the city,” said Minnan-Wong.

Meanwhile, watermain breaks are also a concern for city officials with an average of 1,100 annually.

The city says temperature, external corrosion, and pipe wall thickness are all contributing factors to watermain deterioration and failure.

Toronto Water staff are dispatched when a break is reported to determine the exact location and severity of the leak.

Any property owners affected by the watermain closure is then notified regarding the repair schedule.

Depending on the severity, work to repair or replace the broken pipe may also involve excavation.

“The city is currently spending $110-million to improve watermain distribution system but it will not prevent some breaks in old pipes,” said Minnan-Wong. “This includes replacing approx 40 to 60 km watermain pipes per year.”

Find out more about City of Toronto watermain breaks here.