By Tom Mark

Highways Crews Catching Up After Early Snowfall

Nov 3, 2017 | 12:18 PM

Highways maintenance crews are out sanding and salting the main roads in the North Okanagan trying to keep them safe.

Highways District Manager Jack Bennetto says crews were out at 5 o’clock but were caught off guard by the dropping temperature.

“They were there. They were putting all their equipment out. I’m not so sure we did a good job with the chemical application because of that chemical application and now it’s happening with the chemical application and sanding.”

Bennetto says as the temperature warms up to the target of minus one they should be able to get the primary roads with at least one lane bare and wet.

He says part of the problem was the snowfall was so widespread it stretched resources throughout the southern interior.

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“We can’t do that on every storm. We simply can’t distribute that far so they were focused on the primaries and because of the dropping temperature mother nature got ahead of us in the middle of the night.”

But crews are catching up now with salting and sanding.

“We’re achieving that, meaning at least one lane for the whole district on the primary highways at least the slow lanes first are getting darn close to getting black and bare and wet.”

Bennetto says he’s called in staff from their day off to help with the push.

“The targets need to achieve these goals today while it’s still warm and then you’re ahead of the curve because we’ve made it bare and black on the primary lanes and then when it gets cold it’s a sand application.”

He says crews will be going 24/7 through the weekend to to make sure the roads stay in good shape

Picture: Kalamalka Lookout Drive BC Webcam

by Tom Mark