Wednesday, March 18, 2015 (Halifax, NS) – The Halifax Regional Municipality is thanking residents who have been helping to shovel out their neighbours and the sidewalks around their homes and businesses today after the region was dealt an incredible blow from Mother Nature.
Most areas of Halifax saw more than 50 centimetres of snow today and more than 80 centimetres since the weekend, which is causing significant challenges for crews.
Over the next 12 hours, the municipality will continue to focus its resources on clearing main arterial streets to ensure access for emergency vehicles and eventually Halifax Transit service. Crews will begin cut-throughs on residential side streets tonight and tomorrow, as they’re able, and will continue to coordinate with Halifax Regional Fire and EHS for access to homes in the event of an emergency.
Snow removal will be ramping up over the next 24 hours to help widen the main roads first, including increasing visibility at key intersections. The municipality has brought in at least 50 additional pieces of equipment, including loaders, dump trucks and graders, to help remove and haul the snow away in the coming days.
Sidewalk clearing will be particularly challenging under the current conditions. With the volume of snow down right now and the continuing high winds causing poor visibility and drifting, it will be days before crews will start to make progress on the sidewalks.
These are highly unusual circumstances, which is why Halifax is so fortunate to have an incredible resource in its people. Haligonians are well known for pulling together in tough times, and this week certainly qualifies as among the worst the city has experienced in recent memory.
The municipality appreciates all the help it can get during these challenging times, as long as people are able to do so safely. Even with help, it will take weeks to fully clean up from today’s blizzard. Crews will be working day and night to ensure a smooth commute for residents by next Monday.
The municipality understands that many people will need to be out before next week for work, classes and other important commitments. We are asking for your continued patience and cooperation as the cleanup continues.
For regular storm updates, information on the ongoing cleanup and the impact on municipal services, please visit www.halifax.ca/snow.
Source: Release
