MONDAY
DECEMBER 8, 2014
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Vol. 63, Issue 235
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BARRY COULTER PHOTO
Harpist Keri Lynn Zwicker took the stage with the Symphony of the Kootenays at the Key City Theatre Saturday night in Cranbrook, performing premieres of music specifically arranged for the her and the Symphony. And the house was packed. See more, Page 2.
Flash freeze a challenge for road maintenance: Mainroad ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
Winter road conditions recently have been challenging for motorists, as a thick layer of ice has stuck around on most of the area’s highways. It’s also been a source of frustration for those who feel the contractor in charge of highway maintenance is not doing enough to ensure safe roads. On Friday, Mainroad East Kootenay responded to concerns and complaints from the public about the conditions of highways over the past week. Al Sander, general manager for Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting, said they take the
concerns raised by the public seriously. “We were aware of the impending weather before it came last week,” Sander said. “We were fully prepared. All of our equipment had been deployed.” Sander said the service levels haven’t changed and there is the same amount of resources as there were in past years. “It’s been a challenging week for weather conditions in many parts of the province,” Sander said. He said crews have utilized close to twice the amount of abrasive product compared to normal, and last weekend they used over 500 truckloads of
sand and 50-60 truckloads of salt. “When you get a flash freeze like we had, you just can’t go out with a grader and peel it off; you just can’t go out with a plow truck and burn it off with salt,” he said. “Once you get past -6 (degrees) salt is a useless material; sand won’t stick because it’s too slippery. It’s a really difficult situation.” The East Kootenay fleet is made up of 43 plow trucks and chemical application trucks and six graders, as well as mechanics to keep those vehicles going. They also have contractors they bring in if they need more graders.
He said weather patterns are changing as well. “I talked to guys that have been here for a long time and worked in the business. They’ve never seen Novembers like the last two — the rain and the flash freezes with it. I’m not sure if this is an anomaly or a change in the weather pattern.” He said most of the operators have a lot of experience and these type of weather patterns are a real challenge. Sander said the process of letting the drivers know what they need to do is done on a shop-by-shop basis.
See FLASH FREEZE, Page 4
ARNE PETRYSHEN PHOTO
Al Sander, general manager for Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting.