City of Saskatoon says grading nearly complete on residential roads

City crews and contractors in Saskatoon have largely finished grading residential streets after a huge dump of snow that fell on the city last weekend.

According to the city, more than 50 centimetres of snow fell during the storm, which hampered travel both in the city and around the province. The graders were able to move into residential neighbourhoods overnight on March 6, a day earlier than planned.

“After finishing priority street grading far ahead of schedule, the City has now completed grading on all residential streets as well as industrial areas, with the exception of a few problem locations with special operational requirements,” a statement from the city read.

“These individual locations will be addressed over the next few days. Grading on streets in residential and industrial areas will also reduce the potential for rutting as temperatures fluctuate.”

The city said it won’t haul the snow away from residential streets unless the snow piles seriously obstruct sight lines or a “serious safety concern” is identified.

Snow has already been removed from school zones, the city said, while snow removal from business improvement districts is expected to be completed overnight and snow will be removed from all Priority 1 streets over the coming week.

With the snow beginning to melt away, potholes will likely emerge. The city said its workers will use a temporary fix to address those issues until temperatures warm up further.

“We continue to repair potholes on high-priority streets using a cold mix, which is considered temporary until hot mix asphalt is available mid- to late April,” the city explained. “We also continue to maintain utility cuts using gravel.”

Any potholes or paving issues can be reported to the city directly.

“Please remember to slow down when you are in and around work zones and be aware of our equipment and staff working in roadways and in residential areas,” the city added.

On Monday, the city cautioned against letting children play on or around the large piles of snow that have popped up in parking lots and along roadways around the city.

Snow piles often have air pockets or soft spots that people can fall into, the city warned, and they can collapse completely when someone walks over them, leading to a chance of suffocation.