St. Albert’s biggest dirt pile has once again returned to Campbell Park as the city gets ready for winter.
Public works staff finished work on their giant sand stockpile earlier this month. The resulting mountain range is clearly visible from Veness Road.
The sand is a big part of the city’s preparations for this year’s winter, said operations supervisor Derek Dallorto.
“We always typically carry anywhere from 8,300 to 9,000 tonnes of sand,” he said, all in a big pile at the public works yard in the Campbell Industrial Park. They estimate how much they have left at the start of each fall and order in more to pile on top.
“It’s pretty much the same blend every year,” he said of the sand.
Unlike other cities, St. Albert does not pre-mix its sand with salt, Dallorto said. Instead, it mixes it with about 25 litres of dissolved calcium chloride per tonne of sand to pickle the pile and keep it from freezing solid. That makes the sand moist to the touch and prevents it from blowing away. The substance also releases heat when dissolved in water, which helps the sand melt ice when spread on roads.
Crews store about 100 tonnes of road salt in a nearby shed, Dallorto said. This shed has a solid asphalt base with a dedicated drainage system to catch any liquid salt before it leaches into the ground. (The city is currently doing an $800,000 cleanup of the old public works yard due to salt contamination because the old yard did not have such a system.)
Crews have spent the last few weeks installing plow mounts and sand-spinners on their trucks so they can be ready to shovel and spray if the snow falls, Dallorto said. Utilities staffers are also hooking tall flags to hydrants in case the hydrants get buried under snow.
The lawn crews are also doing some last-minute preparations, said Steve Schlese, parks operations co-ordinator for public works.
“We’re doing as much general maintenance as you probably do at your own house.”
That means aerating lawns, trimming grass, and getting in one last load of water for new trees, Schlese said. They’ll also prune as many plants (particularly elms) as they can and scout out infestations of black knot, which are easier to spot now that the leaves are gone. Fallen leaves are either swept up or mulched in place.
Once the lawns are done, crews will start swapping out lawnmower blades on their vehicles for snow-brushes, Schlese said.
Crews will head out with plows and sanders as soon as two to five centimetres of snow hit the ground, Dallorto said. Major roads such as St. Albert Trail get first priority, followed by arterials and collectors.
The plow crews tend to like snow season and are very good at their jobs, Dallorto said.
“At the end of the day, you’re accomplishing something.”
Questions on winter preparation should go to public works at 780-459-1557.
