‘It’s a huge challenge’: Montreal warns snow removal will take until early next week

Snow removal will take longer than expected in Montreal after 55 centimetres of snow was dumped on the area during two successive storms, the city says.

The extra blast of wintry weather — which caught residents and drivers by surprise on Monday morning — means streets and sidewalks will only be entirely clear by early next week, according to the city.

“It’s a huge challenge for our crew,” said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin on Tuesday. “But the good news is it’s warmer temperatures, and we have everyone on duty.”

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As of Tuesday morning, about 35 per cent of snow removal is complete in Montreal. The boroughs of Lachine, Plateau-Mont-Royal and Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce are even better off at 48, 44 and 39 per cent of completion rates, respectively.

Snow removal is slower in other areas, including Verdun at 17 per cent and Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles at 31 per cent.

Étienne Brunet, the chief of staff for the borough of Verdun, explained that the slow progress is due to a lack of staff on weekends. He has no doubt that snow removal will be finished soon, though.

“We’re very confident we can finish at the same time as other boroughs,” he said.

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Sabourin said he expects half of the city’s streets to be cleared by Wednesday — but with more snow in the forecast, it’s been difficult for workers to keep up.

“We had to push back and delay because yesterday we got 15 centimetres of snow, and now they are calling for 10 other centimetres on Thursday,” said Sabourin.

The city is asking drivers to respect parking restrictions in order to avoid being towed and not delay operations.

— With files from Global News’ Brayden Jagger Haines and the Canadian Press