Snow removal in Saskatoon to cost as much as $15 million

Saskatoon city snow removal crews are facing a huge challenge after two significant storms over three days dumped 34 centimetres of snow on the ground.

That figure comes from city roadways director Goran Saric, who said that’s on top of the 55 centimetres that fell earlier this winter. Saric said that far exceeds the 35 to 40 centimetres that fell on the city during the city’s last major storm in November of 2020.

“We had already 50 to 55 centimetres of snow on the ground, so the total snowfall accumulation is approximately 90 centimetres, compared to 35 to 40 in 2020. So the snow removal effort is much bigger this time,” he said.

(Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

The extra weeks of grading and snow removal will come with a hefty price tag, Saric said.

“We expect the cost to be in the range of $10 (million) to $15 million, based on our experience of 2020 and 2021,” Saric said.

According to the city, the net budget for snow removal in 2022 was $14.1 million. As of Sept. 30, the costs already added up to $17.1 million, meaning the snow removal budget was already at a $3-million deficit in the fall.

After the 2020 storm, the city responded by creating a Roadways Emergency Response plan, which is triggered when more than 25 centimetres of snow falls and mobility is reduced to the point that light vehicles can’t travel on city streets.

Saric said grading on residential streets began on Friday, and will continue until all are completed. That’s expected to happen around Thursday.

So far, about half of all neighbourhoods have been graded, Saric said.

“City crews and contractor crews are making great progress,” said Saric. “We are looking at the end of Thursday or early morning on Friday for the completion timeline for local street grading in residential neighbourhoods.”

Once that is completed, he said crews will move to snow clearing in the city’s industrial areas for a few days. More resources will also be added next week to speed up the snow removal process.

Saric admitted there have been some concerns and complaints about snow piles on various streets, and blocked driveways or sidewalks caused by graders. He said the current focus of the work “continues to be improving safety by removing snow on priority streets first.”

Saric encouraged those who still have impassable back lanes or streets to contact the city as soon as possible, and to move their vehicles off the street if possible to allow grader operators to complete their work more easily.

“In some neighbourhoods the streets are really narrow, so when we get to those neighbourhoods, if our crews need to get through and push snow, or remove snow with large equipment, that creates some operational challenges for us,” he explained.

The schedule for grading and snow removal is posted on the city’s website.