City blames wet conditions for Thursday’s traffic woes in Winnipeg

Despite early warning of freezing conditions in the weather forecast, city roads turned to skating rinks Thursday, leaving locals wondering the City of Winnipeg was asleep at the wheel of their sand and salt trucks.

Countless Winnipeggers spent a chilly evening tied up in traffic jams due to vehicle collisions all around the city.

READ MORE: Wintery blast in Winnipeg sees 97 vehicles in crashes

A city spokesperson said Friday that sand and salt trucks were deployed at 7 a.m. in response to deteriorating weather conditions.

“Under these types of winter weather conditions, bridges ice up first compared to regular roads and streets because there is no insulation under bridges and for this reason they ice up more quickly with strong winds, freezing temperatures and freezing rain.”

“The rain and extremely wet conditions yesterday meant that salt we applied to the bridges and the roadway became diluted quickly, which reduced its effectiveness and resulted in the need for another round of salt,” the statement said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The rain and extremely wet conditions yesterday meant that salt we applied to the bridges and the roadway became diluted quickly, which reduced its effectiveness and resulted in the need for another round of salt," the statement said.

The statement reported that the city became aware of deteriorating conditions and sent out additional salting trucks at 6 p.m., putting a total of 20 trucks out on area roads through the evening.

Public works will be reviewing its salting operations in the aftermath of Thursdays traffic tie-ups.