The aftermath of Saskatoon’s blizzard is turning out to be quite costly, according to the city. With snow clearing still underway, the city said it won’t know the extent of costs for a while.
“It’ll be many millions of dollars for sure,” said city manager Jeff Jorgenson.
Right now, he said, the cost of cleanup is expected to exceed the nearly $14-million snow and winter ice budget for 2020, when taking earlier spending on snow clearing into account.
In addition, the city also expected to blow through its $3.6-million reserve fund. It may have to dip into the 2021 snow and winter ice budget, as well.
The final bill will depend on how cleanup goes.
The city says it’s focusing on improving mobility on the roads right now.
“Our goal is mobility, it’s kind of blitzing the city, all the equipment we can get on the road to blitz the city and get mobility restored in all crescents and all neighbourhoods,” said Jorgenson.
The city said snow piles may be left in some residential areas and may impact parking, but it said crews will be sent back to clear the remaining piles.
The city said it’s cleared five neighbourhoods so far, and on Friday was working on a dozen others.
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