LAC LA BICHE - You know it's too cold when even the snowplows can't operate.
Too cold for snowplows?
That's right, with temperatures hitting the minus 30s for daytime highs over the last week, Lac La Biche County's municipal inventory of winter machinery and its operators have been sidelined. It's been the same story in municipalities across the province during extreme cold conditions that have covered much of Alberta since Christmas.
"The machines will blow hoses, the hydraulics will freeze up — it's hard to keep the engines warm enough so they operate as they should," said Lac La Biche County's associate CAO of Infrastructure Services Brian Shapka.
That's why motorists and residents haven't seen much of the 20-or-so plow trucks, graders and small sanding trucks in the municipality's winter fleet over the last week or so. And it's not just the machines that have trouble getting warmed up during the recent cold snap.
"It's too cold for the salt to work as well," said Shapka, explaining that sand mixed with calcium chloride works best to melt and thaw ice and snow at about -20. Even if the larger sanding plow trucks were on streets, he explained, their payload would have muted effects. Instead, slippery sections and high-traffic paved roads within the municipality have been peppered with what is called "buckshot," or very fine rock particles, that stick into the frozen surface and help with traction.
While the temperatures have parked most of the fleet, crews have been making sure priority work has been done.
"If we have to get out there, we have been, like the main routes and emergency routes. We've been doing our best with the poor temperatures," said Shapka, saying that once it gets to the -40 range, "it's just plain tough on the equipment."
Warm week
With a warming trending starting with the new week, the transportation boss expects roads to be sanded, plowed and graded. Of course, dealing with the weather can be very challenging and unpredictable, he says, so the coming weeks — if the warming trend continues — could also include clearing areas that could be drainage concerns for runoff and melting snow.
Until the warm-up happens, even though wheels aren't moving, infrastructure staff are busy moving to other projects around the community and in the public works yard.
"We stay busy," said Shapka. "There's always maintenance."
Once the temperatures rise from the extreme cold conditions, work will begin on roadways to remove the frozen buildup of the last two weeks. Shapka says emergency routes have top priority with main arterial roads, then collector road and then local roads. He hopes crews will have enough of a warmer-weather window to thaw and remove snow from most of the community's roadways.
He says the public response during the extreme cold has been good, with people understanding the challenges.
"Most people are pretty good. They know we will be coming out there as soon as we can," he said.
