Removal of giant snow piles left over from plowing could take weeks: city

WINNIPEG -

After the most recent dumping of snow in Winnipeg, the city is working to dismantle the large mounds of snow that have piled up after the streets were cleared – work that could take several weeks.

While waiting for her bus on Tuesday, Kathy Easton said she can’t help but notice the amount of snow on city boulevards.

“Too much, lots,” said Easton, adding the snow hills are becoming a safety issue.

“I think they should be taken down, because people can’t see and it’s dangerous too."

The city has begun to haul away the snow ridges and hills along major streets and intersections, but the work won’t happen overnight. The city estimates it will take five weeks to finish the hauling operation.

“I would like to see it get done sooner so that we can walk on the sidewalks again,” said Easton.

Michael Cantor, the city’s manager of streets maintenance, said crews are working 24/7 in three areas in the city. Cantor said 36 centimetres of snow has fallen so far in January and the city has to prepare for the possibility of more to come.

“It’s just an estimate internally depending on how long it will take,” said Cantor. “We have a large amount of snow there, we’re going to be hauling and reducing high piles day and night, so it’s just going to take time.”

Like the city, snow removal businesses are also working around the clock.

“It finally feels like a true Winnipeg winter," said Marcel LaFortune, the owner-operator of LaFortune Home. “The last couple years have been very little snow.”

LaFortune said his company is extremely busy.

“I’m out there hours and hours and hours,” he said. “I think in the last seven days I’ve done about 108 hours.”

The city does not yet have cost estimates for the hauling operation.

In an email to CTV News, the city said one of the four snow disposal sites it operates – the Kenaston disposal location - is closed due to being at capacity, but noted the three other sites are open and have plenty of space for snow removal this winter.