THUNDER BAY – The lack of snow at the end of 2023 has led to big savings for the city.
Thunder Bay experienced next to no snowfall in November and December, which has led to a projected $1.4 million surplus that will be put into the reserve fund.
This money will help crews keep the streets clear in future years when there is much more snow than expected.
The dry winter and the savings that followed came as a bit of a surprise to the roads division, which had actually projected a $70,000 deficit due to snow continuing much later into the spring of 2023 than expected.
"We had a lot of snow last spring so things were projecting negatively, but then we turned things around here with the low amount of snowfall in November and December," said roads manager Ian Spoljarich.
"Crews are still busy doing other things, equipment repairs, stuff along those lines and preparing for the winter to come."
Spoljarich said with less time focused on snow clearing, crews have been able to focus on filling various potholes throughout the city.
"Right now we're seeing milder temperatures during the day and then freezing over night, which is causing some spring-like conditions in January and February and a little more pot holes,” Spoljarich said.
“But we do have staff working hard filling those as quick as possible."
Spoljarich said crews are ready to be back out and clearing city streets once temperatures drop and snow once again falls over Thunder Bay.
