Snow Removal in Labrador City

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Loader Clearing Snow next to Little Wabush Lake.

One of the responsibilities of the Labrador City Town Council is clearing the annual 426 cm (14 ft) of snow from the 55-60 km (34-37 miles) of streets. Included in their budget is 4,000 tonnes of sand and 150 tonnes of salt. In early snowfall they mix 200 pounds of salt with one tonne of sand; this amount is miniscule compared to other northern towns. The reasoning is not only ecological, it is also because salt is not effective when the temperatures are below minus 10°C (14°F). The city owns some of the equipment necessary for snow removal, but contracts out most of the work.

To maintain visibility at corners and to facilitate drainage at spring thaw, the town removes snow piled along the roadsides to a snow dump. On days when the town removes snow, five or six 35-tonne trucks will haul a total of 250 to 300 loads, depending on the distance to the dump site. Pictured at the left is a small portion of one of the local area snow dumps. Although there does not appear to be a large amount of snow, the current height is about 60 to 70 feet.

Equipment is required to be on the road when there is an accumulation of 2-3 cm (1 in); however, in the cold months of winter (Christmas to early March) there is seldom that much snowfall at one time. If the snowfall is less than 2-3 cm, it is packed down by vehicles and causes high crowns, ruts and slick surfaces. One of the town's greatest challenges is knowing when to use the ice blades to remove this packed snow. Use of the ice blade is kept to a minimum because this technique can damage the pavement surface. However, if the accumulated packed snow is not removed, an early sudden thaw will render the roads impassable.