Just in time for winter the province is rolling out new standards for snow clearing on Highways 11 and 17.
Contractors will now have to have highway surfaces clear of snow within 12 hours of the end of a winter storm, four hours faster than before.
The new standard comes after a review of winter maintenance operations and analysis of a pilot project from the past two winters on those highways.
Additionally the province has taken several other actions to improve winter road maintenance across Ontario:
- Increased use of underbody plows that have better performance in removal of snowpack as compared to conventional plows.
- Increased proactive use of anti-icing liquids before storms to make it easier to clear snow.
- Building an additional 24 Road Weather Information Stations (14 in Northern Ontario) to respond to changing winter weather conditions faster and more effectively.
- Enhancing 14 rest areas as a safe place to stop during the winter season, including rehabilitation of the rest areas along Highways 11, 17 and 599.
- Moving ahead with the first-ever 2+1 highway pilot in North America to help make our roads even safer.
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