Portage public works supervisor talks about the "very busy" snow clearing year  

As we all know, Manitoba got absolutely railed with snow this winter, to the point where we actually noticed it.

Adam Carpenter, the public works supervisor for the city, talks about the busy year.

"It seemed like as soon as we got caught up with the routes and hauling all the snow from all the different areas of the city, it would snow again, and we just start the process all over again."

Carpenter says that crews would be prepared for the worst and hope for the best to get everything done in a timely fashion so everybody could get on with their day.

The public works supervisor shares some of the challenges of dealing with a significant April blizzard, including a house fire.

"We actually had to send the grader out from the emergency vehicles so they could get to the fire. With the highways being closed, we had staff unable to make it in. So, we had to utilize some of our other departments to run the equipment. But I think, all in all, it went pretty well. We started the priority routes Thursday morning, and we were all done the routes by Saturday afternoon."

He notes that the city did have graders out 24-hours a day during the storm and that guys were putting in a ton of time.

Carpenter adds that this snow season has gone on far longer than anyone would have liked or expected.

"Usually, we're actually done sweeping our first round for the whole city right now, and we're just getting started this week."

Although there hasn't been much to look forward to with the weather here in the province this spring, it appears that the white fluffy stuff is gone for now, until the fall.