Warming temperatures in the forecast are expected to give Cranbrook’s road maintenance teams a much-needed helping hand.
City officials said the coming weather will make it easier to chip off ice and compacted snow from the community’s roads.
“Our team continues to work around the clock to scrape ice with loaders and our grader in priority areas and traction material continues to be put down at all intersections and hills,” said Derrick Anderson, Director of Public Works. “These warming temperatures this week will help greatly in our efforts to clear the ice off the streets.”
Officials said Cranbrook’s current road conditions were brought on by a near-record cold snap and continuous snowfall that hit the region over the holidays.
“With this mix of weather conditions and temperatures, the only option for roads crews was to place down a salt/sand mixture for traction purposes,” said staff.
The cold and snow were followed up by a very quick warm-up and freezing rain after Christmas, adding to the already compacted areas.
City officials said crews were able to get priority and most of the secondary roads cleared before the slush turned to ice, resulting a frozen layer up to six inches thin in some spots.
“This really has been challenging for everyone – both our residents and our road crews. We ask for patience from our driving public while we keep working to get the ice under control,” said Anderson.
