North Bay Public Works crews are out in full force today in hopes of getting ahead of the melt with rain and mild conditions in the forecast.
A total of 50 staff members are out on the streets working at opening up covered or frozen drainage and storm sewers.
“We have five backhoes on the road, two front end loaders, and two graders trying to break up ice wherever they can,” noted Chris Mayne, City of North Bay Chair of Infrastructure and Operations.
“The challenge is, most of the water is in the middle of the roads so far and there are ice dams on either side that are containing the water. So they (crews) actually go around and have maps to show where the sewers are. It is to open the ice and get that channel open so that the roads and the streets themselves are draining as effectively as they can,” he said.
Crews have the storm drain and sewer locations mapped out and they are trying to clear them before conditions make it difficult to access.
Mayne also reminds motorists to be wary of pedestrians as a large splash through a puddle while driving the speed limit can create a giant wall of water.
No one wants that kind of shower, he said.
