Vancouver paying big bucks to clear all that sand, gravel from winter

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It may officially be spring, but the City of Vancouver is still paying off its bills from this past winter. Crews are still cleaning up all that sand and gravel which is costing a lot of money.

The price tag is a big one, at between $800,000 and $1 million once it’s all said and done in about a month or so.

The city’s Director of Waste Management Albert Shamess admits this year poses some rare challenges. “We really haven’t had this kind of a clean-up for many, many years. Normally, in the winter time, the city uses a lot of salt and brine. This is the first year, in a long time, they’ve used a lot of sand.”

The money is way over the city’s $3.6 million snow-clearing budget for the year. “It’s much different than any other year. It’s a lot more intense. There is a lot more material to pick up,” adds Shamess. He adds the original cleanup began in January but had to be temporarily suspended when more snow fell.

Meanwhile, the provincial government says it spent $4 million keeping the Port Mann Bridge clear of snow and ice and another $1 million doing the same for the Alex Fraser Bridge. You may remember that crossing had to be shut down temporarily several times over the winter due to falling ice bombs that led to dozens of pricey ICBC claims.

The windshield of a driver who was hit with an ice bomb while travelling over the Alex Fraser Bridge.

(Ice bombs on the Alex Fraser: Submitted Photo)

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