Just over half of snow cleared from City of Montreal sidewalks, streets after major storm
Storm brought 40 centimetres of snow to Montreal area
The City of Montreal says it's on track to clear by Wednesday the 40 centimetres of snow left behind by a major storm that swept over the south of Quebec earlier this week.
As of 8:30 p.m. Saturday, approximately 56 per cent of the sidewalks and streets in Montreal had been cleared, according to the city's website.
Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said the snow-clearing operation is "going well" and has met targets set out by the city.
He added residents have a large part to do with the success so far.
"For the moment we're having great collaboration from citizens. They're respecting the signs, which is allowing us to accelerate the operation," said Sabourin.
Over 80 per cent cleared in some boroughs
Of the 19 boroughs that make up Montreal, Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Saint-Léonard and Anjou have cleared the most snow, with 82, 80 and 76 per cent respectively.
The Southwest borough, Ville-Marie and Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce had the lowest per cent of snow removed, with 33, 42 and 43 per cent respectively.
Sabourin said the amount of snow cleared could vary due to a number of reasons, including having more major streets, which means there are more kilometres of lanes to clear.
On Thursday, Southwest Borough Mayor Benoît Dorais approved "exceptional measures" to help speed the clearing along.
Slow down expected as crews take breaks
According to Sabourin, the city aims to clear 16 per cent of the snow per day.
However, over the weekend progress may slow down as workers take a mandated break.
Sabourin said crews are only allowed to work up to 70 hours over a certain period before they must take a 24 hour break. Many of the crews, who've been working since Wednesday — when the city launched the snow-clearing — operation, have reached that maximum.
Replacement crews have been called in to make sure work does not stop entirely.
With files from Radio-Canada