Snow clearing on Britannia and Yearly roads taking place today: District

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Travelled District roads in the Huntsville area have been cleared, except for portions of Britannia Road and Yearly Road, according to the District public works department via email.

In the case of Britannia Road, contracted services are looking to use a grader to be able to access the challenging hills and curves throughout the roadway. “We anticipate efforts out on this road to be underway tomorrow (December 28).”

Yearly Road (north of Stisted) has been challenging because it has seen numerous trees fall across the road. “Some of the attached photos provide a snapshot of what crews are facing to get a lane available for driving. In addition, when trees fall onto utility lines, the public utility owner is required to remove these trees to ensure worker and public safety. Staff is working with the Utility Owners (such as Bell and Hydro) to provide plowed access to these locations so that heavier equipment and clearing crews can safely access each location. This takes time, and we appreciate the public’s patience. Currently, we anticipate Utility and District crews plowing and clearing trees on Yearly Road as early as tomorrow morning, (December 28).”

The email further states that while the District is committed to providing access to all users of the District’s more than 1,450 lane kilometers of roads when an event is so significant, such as the one experienced over the last few days, activities must be prioritized according to the greatest benefit to the largest number of road users. That means arterial and higher-volume roads are addressed first, and lower-volume roads follow suit. “Throughout the storm, the District has worked closely with emergency services to ensure that those who require emergency assistance are able to receive it in a timely fashion,” states the email. “This has involved sending plows in ahead of crews to assist in access, but this also means that they have to take time away from their standard plow routes to respond.”

The District had to bring in heavier equipment in some areas as its standard plows could not do the job. “Given the severity of the storm and the localized impacts on these roads (such as downed hydro and telecommunication lines), the District’s plowing operation could not be completed using conventional plowing equipment and requires the mobilization of larger equipment to complete the snow-clearing operation safely. The larger equipment must be trucked (given its size and slow operating speeds, it can only be driven short distances), and the trucking operation had to wait until roads from the yard to these areas were adequately cleared so this could be completed safely. Large equipment to complete the removals will be delivered to these areas on Wednesday. It is expected that the roads will be accessible by the end of the day Wednesday or Thursday morning, depending on the conditions encountered. This operation is still contingent on the removal of downed utility lines along Yearly in particular, which would prevent any equipment from entering the area. The District continues to work closely with the utilities, to restore all District Roads to a state where they meet an appropriate level of service,” stated the District.

“We understand and appreciate that folks who use these roads may feel frustrated and isolated. However, crews have been working around the clock to restore service to the District’s more than 1450 lane kilometres of roads and have completed this work safely and as expeditious as possible.”