Ottawa begins big dig after 37 cm of snow this weekend, snow removal to take 2 weeks

City crews say snow removal could take weeks after back-to-back storms dumped nearly 70 centimetres of snow on Ottawa. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson reports.

The City of Ottawa is warning the big dig from back-to-back major winter storms will take several days and snow removal will last at least two weeks, after 37.4 cm of new snow blanketed roads and sidewalks over the Family Day long weekend.

Ottawa received 4 cm of snow on Saturday and 33.4 cm of snow on Sunday, on top of the 32 cm of snow that hit Ottawa last Wednesday and Thursday. A winter storm warning was lifted for Ottawa last night.

The winter storm disrupted travel across the city, with snow slowing down the commute, causing several OC Transpo buses to become stuck and cancelling dozens of flights at the airport.

The winter weather parking ban was lifted at 7 a.m. Monday.

“Understanding and patience is key over the coming days as crews begin the cleanup today,” Jake Gravelle, area manager – Urban, Roads and Parking Services at Public Works, said in a memo to council.

“Although it has stopped snowing, there is significant blowing and drifting snow and it’s wreaking havoc on the transportation network. Crews are doing their best; however, we recognize snowbanks are high, sidewalks are still snow-covered and roads are narrow. Cleanup will take several days to complete and it remains challenging to get around the city today.”

The City of Ottawa says all its resources are deployed, focusing on main roads, bus routes and sidewalks. Crews have travelled over 62,000 kilometres clearing roads and sidewalks since the first storm hit last Wednesday night.

“It’s been a battle,” Bryden Denyes, City of Ottawa roads manager, told Newstalk 580 CFRA Monday morning.

“We made some good progress overnight; the main priority roadways are in pretty good shape for the commute today, our priority sidewalks are relatively good. Our main focus today will be on residential sidewalks, trying to get those opened up, which will take a bit longer just because of the snow accumulation. Today we’re going to focus on cleaning up some of the residential streets that need little touch-ups.”

The city’s sidewalk crews switched to blowers to deal with high accumulation amounts and blowing snow on sidewalks, which requires a second pass to clear snow from sidewalks.

Denyes says city crews are focusing on preparing roads for the return to work and school on Tuesday following the Family Day long weekend, before beginning snow removal operations.

“We’re probably going to be in a two-to-three-week cycle of snow removal coming up,” Denyes said. “We’ve still got to clean up bus stops today (and) tonight. We’re trying to get all crosswalks, school loading zones everything ready for school that starts tomorrow and then, really, it’s getting into that snow removal because there are some very narrow streets out there right now.”

Snow disposal sites

When the city begins the snow removal operations, the snow will be transported to one of seven disposal sites across Ottawa.

“Their specific purpose is to hold all the snow we pull off the roadways,” Denyes said. “They’re big sites; we stack it up and it slowly melts.”

Denyes says the sites will fill up “quite rapidly” with this round of snow removal.

“Some of our big snow disposal facilities the piles can reach 180 feet high.”

OC Transpo

OC Transpo is warning commuters to expect delays on buses today due to the heavy snow on the roads. The transit service is running on a regular weekday schedule.

“With cleanup efforts continuing from today’s storm anticipated to continue overnight and into (Monday), we expect road conditions will remain difficult,” Renée Amilcar, OC Transpo general manager, said in a statement.

“We thank our partners at Public Works who are working hard to clear the streets, and customers for their patience as we navigate these adverse weather conditions.”

Crews were also out overnight to clear snow from O-Train infrastructure, including switches.

Amilcar said the storm Saturday night and Sunday caused longer bus trip times and stranded some buses.

“Several immobilized buses were quickly put back into service throughout the day.” Amilcar said.

O-Train Lines 2 and 4 experience intermittent delays throughout the day Monday due to snow accumulation and issues with switches. A switch issue on Line 1 also caused some disruptions Monday afternoon.

Ottawa Airport

Travellers are being reminded to check their flight status before heading to the Ottawa Airport today, after the storm disrupted travel over the weekend.

Forty-six flight departures were cancelled on Sunday due to the storm, with another nine flights cancelled on Monday.

The same storm that hit Ottawa also caused delays and cancellations in Toronto and Montreal.

Rideau Canal Skateway

If you are heading out for a skate on the Rideau Canal Skateway, the ice conditions will be poor.

The National Capital Commission says its teams have been working to remove the 37 cm of snow from the Skateway.

“Ice conditions are ‘poor’ due to blowing snow, and no flooding overnight,” the NCC said.