Checking Out Clearing the way
Through freezing temps and blinding snow the snow removal crew is always on the job
By Roger Monk
national Airport open for air traffic. Shifts are long, and if it snows, a Winnipeg inevitability, the crew will spend the ma- jority of their time outdoors running the massive sweepers, blowers and plows, coming in only to refuel both man and machine. “It seems we spend the whole summer preparing for the next winter,” explains Ron Fife, supervisor of mobile maintenance. At the end of October the CSB begins to hum with excite-
T
ment as seasonal staff return in full force to gear up for the upcoming winter’s operations. Since Nov. 1, the snow removal team have been fully staffed with four crews of seven to eight employees working 24/7. Preparedness is the name of the game. Te goal? Try to stay
ahead of the weather. Te crew monitors radar closely and schedules adjustments accordingly. If they think bad weather is on the way, they will pull in extra manpower. Te machines,
he snow removal crew at the Combined Services Building (CSB) put in endless hours every day, all winter long. It takes hard core commitment to keep the runways at Winnipeg Richardson Inter-
serviced and fueled, are always ready. Te magnificent bright red beasts, appropriately named Snow Mauler and Snow Wolf, are massive, with snow tires almost five feet tall. Tey work in tandem, forming a conga line. A team of four to six Snow Mauler sweepers are followed by a Snow Wolf blower, angling from the centre line of the runway outwards. Together they are capable of clearing the runway right down to the cement. Te runway is the key to everything and therefore their number one priority, along with the taxiway to the runway and parking apron, of course. In addition to the specialized snow removal equipment, the
crew also uses potassium acetate on the runway to prevent icing, or jet stone to add traction. Jet stone is a specialized sand certi- fied for airport use which contains no salt and is heated before being applied to the runway. “Last winter was tough,” says Ron. Freezing rain and fluctuat-
ing temperatures in the spring and fall can be as bad as or worse than snow, causing a loss of friction on the runway. But the frigid temps of last year were extremely hard on everyone and every- thing, especially the machines.
70 • Winter 2014
The Hub
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