Commuters invited to 'take a snow day' as crews in southern B.C. prepare for another winter storm

Maintenance trucks were out salting and brining the roads across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island as another snowstorm is set to hit southern B.C. on Tuesday night.

Snowfall and winter storm warnings are in place across the bottom half of the province, according to Environment Canada.

Beginning Tuesday evening and lasting into Wednesday afternoon, the storm is expected to bring 10 to 20 centimetres of snow across the southern B.C. mainland, and about 10 centimetres on Vancouver Island.

Darren Ell, general manager of Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting, which maintains the region's highways, said his team has been watching the forecast closely to prepare for the upcoming storm.

Crews were out on the roads Tuesday laying down brine and salt to prevent them from getting icy, but Ell says the safest option for commuters would be to avoid driving entirely.

"Don't go out on the roads tomorrow unless you absolutely have to. Stay home — take a snow day. It's best for us to get out there and manage the snow when there's less traffic on the highways," he told CBC.

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Ell said Mainroad's fleet is fully functional and it has full stocks of salt, sand and brine ready to go for the storm.

There was a similar message from Emcon Road Services on southern Vancouver Island, where division manager Steward Westwood said anyone who absolutely has to drive the Malahat Highway on Wednesday morning should plan for the worst.

"Be prepared. Make sure that you have warm clothing in the vehicle should you happen to get delayed anywhere along the road, and you've got snacks and water with you," he said.

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Westwood said that his crews will be out at 5 a.m. on the Malahat to make sure all commercial vehicles have their chains on.

Both Ell and Westwood cautioned drivers against passing any working snowplows they might encounter on Wednesday, saying the flying snow and debris can blow out a car's windows.

"The safest place on the road is behind a snowplow," Ell said.