Winnipeg snow plow crews welcome winter blast after late start to season

Crews that are clearing all the snow that has blanketed Winnipeg on Wednesday say they're happy to get work at last, but the winter wallop was not good news for motorists stuck in traffic during the afternoon commute.

Plowing crews have been working around the clock to clear, salt and sand roads across the city, and plows have also been seen removing piles of snow from parking lots and properties.

For some, like Anthony Vogiatzakis of North Main Trucking, working 24 hours non-stop is no problem.

"We hope for snow. Otherwise, nobody eats, right? People got to put food on the table," said Vogiatzakis, whose company is paid by the hour.

"I know it was a slow start for everybody, a lot of people complaining that there's no snow."

Vogiatzakis said crews are having to re-plow some streets because a lot of snow has fallen throughout the day.

In terms of parking ban, only the city's snow route parking ban is in effect overnight, meaning parking is not allowed on streets with snow route signs between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.

The snow made for a messy afternoon rush hour in Winnipeg, as visibility was reduced and roads were slippery.

Traffic lights were out at several intersections and vehicles had flipped over or stalled, CBC traffic reporter Trevor Dineen reported throughout the afternoon.

Manitoba RCMP urged drivers to be cautious around emergency vehicles that are going to "numerous collisions" on highways.

The Perimeter Highway, about one kilometre north of McGillivray Boulevard, had been blocked to traffic because of a crash since before 5 p.m. The area reopened by 11 p.m.

Another crash closed Highway 334 between Roblin Bouelvard and Wilkes Avenue, just west of the city, at around 6:30 p.m.

CAA Manitoba said it had received about 200 calls for service as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, which was double the number of calls at the same time Tuesday.

One of those calls turned into a close call for CAA driver James Smith, who was pulling a car out of a ditch on Lagimodiere Boulevard, just south of the Trans-Canada Highway, when his truck was rear-ended by another vehicle.

"You're just watching it happen in slow-mo. There's nothing you can do," he said.

Smith said unfortunately, more often than not, drivers are not slowing down when they should be — even when they're passing CAA trucks and other emergency vehicles.

"They should just slow down," he said.

"Even on a sunny day, when you see an emergency vehicle, you're supposed to slow down to like 60-70 [km/h] in a 100 zone; 40 in a 60 zone…. They never do, and this is what happens."

Motorists are urged to check the Manitoba government's highway conditions website for the latest updates before they hit the road.

As for what to expect Thursday morning, CBC meteorologist John Sauder is calling for blowing snow and colder air pushing temperatures down into the minus-double-digits.

• Check out John Sauder's weather journal here.