After last year's wet summer and fall and this year's March snowfall, Red Deer County staff is expecting one of the busiest spring cleanups in a number of years.Wet years with fast snow melt in the spring usually mean more damage to gravel roads, said Marty Campbell, the county's operations director.ìWe went into winter with the ground already quite saturated so the cleanup will all depend on what kind of spring we get,î said Campbell.The recent snowfall left heavy and wet snow covering the roads and the county is currently working to clear as many roads as possible to minimize the damage the melting snow will do.Campbell said graders are working to clear the roads and steamers are out trying to melt the snow and ice buildup in the culverts.Some road repairs such as the filling potholes and adding gravel to roads are already being done where conditions allow it, said Campbell.If the snow melts quickly in the spring it causes erosion and potholes in the roads and can cause the ditches and culverts to clog and to fill quickly, which could possibly cause local flooding. However, the amount of damage varies from year to year and the extent of the damage won't be known until the snow melts, Campbell said.During extremely wet years in the past the government has provided the counties with financial assistance through the Provincial Government Disaster Recovery Program to help with the spring cleanup. The county received funding from 2005 to 2009 but Campbell said he is not sure if that will be the case this year.Once the snow has cleared the county will assess all the roads and prioritize the needed repairs.ìOur goal is to repair all of the damage and add gravel where needed on the roads,î said Campbell.The length of time it takes to complete the repairs also varies from year to year depending on the spring weather. Wet springs often delay repairs and can worsen the damage of the roads.Early this week the county will be implementing the spring road bans and information about specific roads can be found on the county website. The road bans are usually lifted around the end of May or the start of June.
