The City and County of Grande Prairie are gearing up to deal with the first major snowfall of the winter. In the County, crews are starting with the priority main paved roads, then will head to arterial and local gravel routes.
A crew dedicated to hamlets will get their work started Wednesday, beginning with the roads in Clairmont south of 108 Avenue, including Whispering Ridge and Westlake. Once done, they’ll move north of 108 Avenue and then on to Wedgewood.
Taylor Estates and Maple Ridge have already been passed by rural subdivision crews, who are now tackling areas in the southeast like Pinebrook, Maple Grove, Bear Ridge, Willow Wood Estates, and Windwood. Up after that will be the subdivisions east of Township Road 712.
The County of Grande Prairie aims to have arterial and local gravel roads cleared within five days of a snowfall, and hamlets within 12 days of getting 10 to 15 centimetres. It has 20 graders, five plow trucks, three large tractors and three loaders to do so.
The City’s fleet includes six snow haul trucks, seven graders, six front end loaders, and six sanders and plows, in addition to other equipment from the private sector and more specialized tools. It has declared a parking ban starting Wednesday, November 15th, in an attempt to better clear priority roads.
Residential snow plowing has not yet been initiated. Once that happens, neighbourhoods will be cleared the day before their garbage collection day. It typically starts 24 hours after a major snowfall or when 10 centimetres has accumulated and takes an average of two weeks.