With a new brush of snow making it's way through Airdrie over the next few days, road crews are ready to take to the streets.

Team Lead for the City's Roads Department, Mike Avramenko says crews have been preparing for the first big snow fall for quite a while.

"We are our staffing in place now for the winter operations. We're scheduled 24/7 and those will be in place til mid April. Our equipment is ready to go. All our winter materials are stock piled such as our grit and our melting material."

Avramenko says that they don't plan to de-ice the roads right now, as temperatures are expected to warm up by next week.

When it comes to their plan of attack, the busiest roads will be tackled first.

"Our service levels are based on 5 priorities," says Avramenko. "Priority 1 would be hitting the arterials such as Veterans Blvd and Yankee Valley Blvd. Then we move into the collectors such as Chinook Winds Drive and Big Springs Drive. "

As with any snowfall that will force road crews to be busy plowing the streets, Avramenko is hoping drivers will exercise patience.

"The first major event of the year, motorists have to relearn how to basically prepare themselves for winter driving. They should expect some slowdowns and adjust their travel time to accommodate slippery roads. My advice would be to slow down and drive to the conditions of the road."

Environment Canada is calling for at least 15 centimetres to fall in Airdrie by Friday afternoon.

 

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