As a result of yesterday’s winter storm event, the City of Thunder Bay’s Roads Section is working hard to clear and maintain the City’s roads and sidewalks.

Thunder Bay received approximately 30 - 50 cm of wet and heavy snow coupled, with high winds creating drifting in some areas. Rural roads received higher amounts of snow than in urban areas. An additional 5 cm of snow with the potential for ice pellets is forecast for today.

Road crews started plowing arterial and collector streets at 2 am this morning. Progress is slow due to the significant amount of snow and it being so wet. As of 9 am this morning, Roads Crews continue to clear arterial and collector roadways, with the expectation of coming in again at 2 am tomorrow morning. Local street plowing will commence once the arterial and collector roadways have been cleared. Completion of local Street plowing should be done by end of Friday.

Sidewalk snow plowing started at 3 am this morning on the arterial, collector and core area street sidewalks. Progress is very slow due to the amount of wet and heavy snow. Roads Crews expect to continue with clearing arterial and collector sidewalks all day and once these are cleared, they will begin local street sidewalk snow clearing. Local street sidewalk clearing should be completed by Sunday of this week.

With the significant amount of snow and warm temperatures forecasted for tomorrow, operations will be dealing with drainage concerns in addition to snow clearing. Staff will be focusing on removing snow from plugged catch basins and steaming frozen culverts/catch basins. Drainage issues that pose a risk of damage to property or are a safety concern are given priority.

Please consider staying home when able. If you must travel, please use caution and give yourself extra time to reach your destination. We ask that residents be patient, as our Crews are working hard to keep roads open and safe. Also, when following a plow or sander, give them extra room to operate and stay back when they are turning.

For more information, or to report an issue, contact the Infrastructure & Operations Dispatch at 625-2195.

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Contact: Ian Spoljarich, Acting Manager – Roads - 684-2408