Deerfoot Trail to be closed overnight Wednesday for street cleaning

Deerfoot Trail southbound will be closed overnight Wednesday for street cleaning. The closure will be in effect between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Thursday.

The street sweeping should have started weeks ago, but with snow staying on the ground into late April, the company responsible for the cleaning had to push back its plans.

“This winter we did push it back a week or two, we’ve had storm after storm so we’ve had to push it back which is actually working out, the weathers been decent for us,” Carmacks operations manager Phillip Mendive said.

Generally, road cleaning is finished by April 30 but this year, cleaning is expected to be finished by May 18.

The second closure, affecting northbound Deerfoot Trail, will May 8 at 9 p.m. and be in effect until 5 a.m. the next day. The route will be closed from Glenmore Trail to 17 Avenue.

“There’s a lot more material out there than there have been in past years,” Mendive said.

At King’s Glass, the glass repair and replacement shop said it’s seeing a spike in calls for repairs due to damage from rocks and gravel.

“We do probably four times the business in this period than we do other times of the year,” owner Fred Denomme said.

“As soon as the people see the street sweepers come out, the bell goes off. And you’re safe again to get your windshield replaced.”

Carmacks is urging drivers to be cautious and patient, saying its crews are not only cleaning and sweeping the roads, but are also patching potholes too.