If you live or travel to Abbotsford in the Winter, you understand the importance of having winter tires and being mindful of driving techniques to be safe on the road. Abbotsford can get a significant amount of snow in the colder months of the year, which poses unique challenges to driving during this season. Abbotsford snow removal is essential to keeping roads safe for residents and visitors in this growing city.
The City of Abbotsford has a strategic snow and ice control program that manages approximately 910 km of paved roadways. This vast landscape to maintain means that severe weather conditions can significantly impact the city from both a social and economic position if roads are unsafe; therefore, a reliable Abbotsford snow removal program is essential.
Here are questions and answers from the Snow and Ice Control Program for Abbotsford snow removal
1. What is the priority for Abbotsford when snow hits?
The City of Abbotsford has developed a Council Policy that classify roads into three priorities.
First Priority Roadways includes approximately 350 km of high volume routes, such as transit, school zones and all major access to potentially unsafe hillside areas.
Second Priority Roadways includes approximately 170 km of the remaining hillside and collector routes.
Third Priority Roadways: includes the remaining approximately 390 km of roadways, usually local roadways, not identified as first and second priority in this policy.
2. What is included in snow preparation, especially when the weather hits?
Much like three priority routes that the City of Abbotsford has developed, there are three phases in the approach to snow and ice control.
Phase 1 includes anti-icing application. This is a proactive plan that many cities implement. You likely have seen large trucks spray liquid sodium chloride via tanks and sprayers on the back of these vehicles, which help to reduce the opportunity for snow and ice bonding on asphalt.
Phase 2 includes sanding and salting application. This is more of a responsive plan, and can help to improve traction on roadways.
Phase 3 includes snow plowing and snow removal. This is also responsive and is done by the City of Abbotsford or companies like ours, to clear roadways with belly or front plows.
3. How does the city know when to implement these actions above?
There are many weather cameras and pavement sensors that help the City of Abbotsford monitor overall road conditions, around all seasons of the year.
Did you know that residents can also view the cameras and pavement data sensors? For example, visit the Bradner Weather Station here, with information such as surface temperature, freezing temperature, water film, road condition and more.
Staff monitor many locations around the city to assess Winter road conditions before they hit the road and implement the measures above.
Fraser Valley Snow Removal is available 24/7
We don’t plan when the weather hits – and neither can you. Your snow removal partner needs to be readily available to handle the job you need done.
Fraser Valley Snow Removal is available 24/7 to customers like you, or the City of Abbotsford. We will always show up with the correct equipment to do the job, and we will not leave until your property is clear and and in a much safer condition for you to drive.
Working as a snow removal specialist is not an easy job, especially in tricky conditions like those we see in Abbotsford snow removal. We train our experts to be just that – experts – in tricky situations for this very important job.
Contact Us
To learn more about how we perform our work, or to ask questions about our work within the beautiful City of Abbotsford, contact us here.
