As the snow melts, you will begin to see the city of Grande Prairie crews on the roads working. Manager of Transportation Robert Carroll says he thinks it is abnormal weather for this time of year but this means getting more done.
“We started cleaning off our medians and boulevards on March 15th which according the records that I have, it is the earliest we have ever started…I talked to some of my older staff and they can’t recollect starting this early.”
He adds that snow removal wasn’t needed as much this year in residential areas because of lack of snow. He says since they didn’t need to hire out contractors to help, they saved that money so far this year. Since the fiscal year runs until the end of December, the beginning of next winter could change that.
Another sign of spring is that potholes have started to pop up on roadways around the city. Carroll explains that although it may seem like there are many, there isn’t much more than other years.
“We do keep track of the work we do and how many potholes we patch. I think at last count we are approaching the thousand mark… that is something we patch and might have to go re-patch. Thus far, as of January this year we have patched almost a thousand potholes.”
He explains that they use a cold mix to fill potholes when the weather is hovering around freezing temperatures for a temporary fix.
“A cold type of product has the aggregate and asphalt mix which remains workable at colder temperatures but isn’t meant for a permanent repair. It will give you a quick fix.”
Carrol says when the weather warms up, they will switch to a more permanent hot mix.
He says the best way to report a rough pothole around the city is at the city of Grande Prairie’s website.
