Over the past few days I have received a number of calls and emails about the road conditions in Milton due to the cold snap “Polar vortex” we have been experiencing.
Town of Milton staff have been working very hard to get the roads as clear as possible for traffic and in our neighbourhoods and we all appreciate your patience in this matter.
Here is a quick update we have received from our engineering staff:
Mayor and Members of Council,
Our efforts to keep all roads in a usable and safe state have been generally successful however, not to the normal visual standard everyone is used to at this point in time following the end of the precipitation event.
Salt stops being effective as an ice melter at approximately minus 10 degrees C. Air and pavement temperatures have remained consistently below minus 10 C since the flash freeze that occurred Sunday night. This flash freeze was preceded by heavy rain, which prevented the pre-storm application of anti-icing liquid which would have stopped the ice from bonding to the asphalt surface of the roadways. We are still working on removing this stubborn ice layer, which is more of a nuisance while driving over it due to its rough nature, than a hazard as it does exhibit some degree of friction. In addition to various snow removal operations, we had graders out last night working on the arterial, collector and Regional roads where this ice layer exists in an attempt to improve their condition prior to the morning rush hour. Winds causing blowing snow and streamers have also been a major factor during this time period that the crews have had to deal with.
Temperatures are expected to rise in the next few days, starting today, with winds subsiding and prevalent sunshine, which will help alleviate the situation and aid our efforts. We continue to ask that citizens drive with care and thank them for their understanding and cooperation as we continue to provide winter control services to the community.
According to the forecast, we should be heading into a period of “warmer” weather towards the weekend with temperatures in the plus range, which will go a long way to getting rid of the ice packs at the end of our driveways and improving the quality of the roads. If there are any specific concerns you might have about the past few days and snow clearing, please feel free to email myself or engineering@milton.ca
I think we can all say that we are all looking forward to warmer weather coming up to give us a break from this cold, arctic weather. Thank you again for your patience.