By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—We all know it’s inevitable this time of year. Bad weather brings hazardous driving conditions, iced-over windshields, and all those delightful traditions that accompany the season. While most of us are preparing to stay inside when a storm blows in, Haldimand’s Roads Crew and their many contractors are preparing to head out to work.
We spoke with Steve Grant, a Roads Crew foreman with the County. Grant began his career as a temp worker doing plow routes and occasional roadway maintenance work in 2007. He was hired full-time in 2009 and was given the foreman job in 2018. Grant is based out of Haldimand’s Oneida yard.
The view from the driver’s seat on a snowy day in Haldimand.
He said being prepared is a big part of his team’s job during the winter: “We monitor the weather. We have patrollers that are out monitoring the road conditions, but even before the storm, we do what we call anti-icing. On some of our main arterial roads we put down a salt brine to help prevent the ice from forming on the roads.”
David Pressey, Director of Roads Operations, explained, “Brining is simply the process of dissolving rock salt in water to a very specific concentration. That salt-water solution is called brine. We then transfer that brine into our brine trailers and spray the brine solution directly on the road surface to help prevent the formation of icy conditions.”
Luc Morin – Roadway Maintenance Worker – Oneida
He said that treated road salt is also used in Haldimand’s urban areas, which “is basically road salt that has been pre-treated with performance enhancing liquids like calcium chloride to enhance the performance of the rock salt.”
Grant said that when the team knows a storm is incoming, they make sure all their vehicles are loaded up and ready to go the night before, adding, “Then, we ensure we have the appropriate staff scheduled and the contractors prepared to assist in plowing the roads, sidewalks, and parking lots.”
Pressey said the County currently contracts out nine plow routes for winter maintenance, with those routes split between five contractors. The annual contracted service budget is roughly $1.4 million for plowing.
Grant touched on how work is divided between contractors and County Roads staff, noting that contractors are deployed to cover Haldimand’s highest priority routes. While County Roads Crew are generally available from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., contractors offer 24/7 availability in the event of bad weather, making them ideally suited to cover Haldimand’s main roadways, such as Argyle Street in Caledonia and Highway 54.
“They run 24 hours a day until the storm is over and the roads are cleaned up,” said Grant.
Grant himself expects a wake-up call at 4 a.m. on stormy nights: “At that point, if required, all of our equipment is deployed throughout all four districts in the county.”
All contractors and roads crew workers have set routes, working through them systematically. Pressey explained that once a storm is in full force, “plows continue on their routes until the patrol staff and the forepersons deem the roads to be in a state of good repair and safe for travel…. County staff are routinely in contact with contracted plow operators throughout an event. County patrol staff will inspect contractor routes and will communicate with the operator on areas that need attention.”
He added that while each plow route is generally assigned to individual staff, all staff are trained to plow any route if needed. Haldimand’s vast geographical landscape presents different challenges based on where an operator is working.
“Dunnville can be under heavy snow conditions while Townsend is sunny, north of Highway 3 can be calm and mild while the lakeshore is wild and stormy. The lake could freeze over and the snow on the ice could blow on shore, causing major drifts and snow-covered roads, while Caledonia is bare,” said Pressey, adding that plowing Haldimand’s urban areas is a very different experience than plowing in rural areas. “Challenges in urban areas include parked cars, narrow roads, traffic and pedestrians, and multiple intersections to clear. Rural challenges include high wind areas causing low visibility and drifting, high speed traffic, and icy road conditions along the lakeshore.”
Grant said road traffic is another challenge for plow operators: “Obviously, a snow plow is moving quite a bit slower. Sometimes it’s a challenge; traffic doesn’t always give you the room you need to turn corners or back up.”
Plow operators are multi-tasking champions, operating complex systems from the driver’s seat, while navigating wide-load vehicles through dangerous conditions.
“There’s a lot of people who have an A-licence, which allows you to drive a transport truck, but it’s a whole different skill driving a snow plow,” he added, noting that plow operators must be highly skilled at multi-tasking. “You’re busy in there as an operator – you have a lot of controls you have to run while driving a wide load down the road.”
While understanding that it can be frustrating for residents to wait for their roads to be plowed sometimes, Grant urged patience from the community.
“I believe we cover 1,500km of road in Haldimand County,” he explained. “It takes time to get through all the routes and if the weather is bad, it’s hard for us to see out there just like it is for the drivers, so please be patient and we’ll get it done as quick as we can.”
To help drivers, he asks the public to consider keeping vehicles parked in their driveways, out of no parking zones, and off snow routes.
We owe the many dedicated plow operators and team members who keep our roads clear a debt of gratitude.
It’s not an easy job, but they are out there working for us, fuelled by coffee and a desire to keep commuters safe through another Canadian winter.
We salute them.
