Edmonton’s mild winter puts road budget $7 million in the black

Sunday’s snow leaves mud puddles instead of traffic woes

February 20, 2012

EDMONTON - With the sun shining and birds chirping in the background, Edmonton’s snow boss stepped past a mud puddle to speak to reporters about winter road conditions.
A two centimetre snowfall Sunday morning left Bob Dunford — Edmonton’s director of road maintenance and point man for all blizzards — commenting on just how little was left by noon on Monday.
The snowfall put 50 sanding trucks onto Edmonton roads, but crews were already clearing city sidewalks on Family Day. The city is advising citizens to clear their own sidewalks and make use of free, untreated sand at one of 180 community sandboxes throughout the city.
“Very little plowing is required,” Dunford said. “We’re doing a little bit of plowing today to take some of the additional slop off the road.”
A mild winter has allowed the city to get ahead with road maintenance. That, one year after record snowfalls pushed the city $30 million over its annual snow-removal budget. Dunford estimates the city saved $7 million in January 2012 alone, though weather can quickly change and gobble up the annual $45 million budget.
Less snow also means smaller snow piles and less gravel to be collected from the streets. Crews are already filling potholes on an ongoing basis, aided by a lack of moisture to freeze and thaw and split and fracture the asphalt.
“Feeling pretty good about spring, that we won’t have the same kind of bumper crop we had last spring,” Dunford said.