As temperatures get colder and snow begins to fall, Mainroad said its fleet of trucks is ready to make sure highways are as safe as possible.
Mainroad has added more vehicles to its fleet ahead of heavy snowfall. Three replacement tandem-axle trucks, a new single-axle, and three-axle trucks to help operations.
Its equipment will be active all winter, keeping roads clear of snow and ice.
“Forecasts show slightly above normal temperatures,” said Andries de Witt, General Manager for Mainroad East Kootenay. “We do expect above-normal snowfall for this area. It’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag. We think February we’ll be getting the brunt of the weather systems.”
An area of concern to Mainroad is public safety, and ensuring divers are at an appropriate distance from snowplows.
“We did see a big improvement last year with people respecting us on the road. We still have the occasional guy that thinks it’s good to tailgate and then fly by,” de Witt said. “We do want everyone to be aware of that and shift into winter, have their winter tires on.”
Since beginning the contract, smaller sand grain sizes have been used, and the difference has been noticeable. Mainroad has reduced from 12mm to 9mm grain size.
“Windshield claims have gone down dramatically, we can see it working. From an operational standpoint, we see no issues with using a smaller grain size,” said de Witt. “You’ll still get that aggregate that will come off, especially when guys are following plow trucks too closely.”
Mainroad encourages the public to use its 24-hour hotline to report weather events: 1-800-665-4929.