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Winter Operations

Winter Operations

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Snow Maintenance Stats

Annually, work crews clear:

  • 4,028 lane kilometres of roads
  • 2,551 transit stops
  • 992 kilometres of sidewalks/walkways
  • 205 kilometres of recreational trails
  • 186 school crossing locations
  • 86 City facility parking lots
  • About Our Winter Operations

    Winter in Brampton can bring snow, ice, freezing rain, and other severe conditions. Here’s what City crews do to help clear the way:

    Snow Removal

    The City of Brampton is respon​sible for servicing City-owned roads. In addition to plowing, we remove snow from Brampton Transit bus stops, bridge deck sidewalks, school crossings, walkways and when necessary, from the centre of courts.

    ​For more detailed information on our plowing operations, see our ​​Levels of Service​​​​​

    Anti-Icing

    Before a winter event, road crews may apply a liquid salt brine mixture to the primary roads to keep snow and ice from building up and sticking to the road. Anti-icing makes the roads easier to plow and may also reduce the need to use additional salt.

    Salting

    Salt is an effective material for controlling snow and ice on roads. When warning of a snowfall or icing is received, major arterial roads are anti-iced to prevent ice and snow from sticking to the roads. When using granular salt, it is placed on a narrow strip in the centre of the road and vehicular traffic will help to effectively work the salt towards the road edge. The combination of vehicular traffic, snow, ice and salt creates salt brine, which enables de-icing.

    Environmental Initiatives

    The City also works diligently to reduce the impact of road salt and winter fleet emissions on the environment.

    Anti-icing and Pre-wetting Equipment

    This equipment can apply salt brine prior to a storm to prevent snow and ice from sticking to the road surface, and also pre-wet granular salt with salt brine to minimize road bounce. The amount of salt used is reduced by up to 30%, which results in causing less damage to roads, vehicles, property and the environment.

    Combination Snow Plows​

    The City of Brampton uses combination snow plows that salt and plow at the same time, so one unit can do the job of two, resulting in less air pollution and vehicle maintenance.

    Sandalwood Works Yard Improvements in Salt Storage

    The Sandalwood Works Yard has a state-of-the-art winter materials storage facility, which has replaced the old wooden salt domes. This facility is approximately 24,000 square feet, and has the capacity to store 8,000 tonnes of salt and sand as well as a salt brine loading station. Salt brine is used both as an anti-icer applied to the road surface and to pre-wet granular salt.

    Rendering of Sandalwood Yard Facility  

    The facility’s environmentally-friendly advantages include:

    • Salt loading occurs indoors.
    • Concrete floors and walls prevent chlorides from seeping into the ground.
    • A membrane and weeping tiles under the facility offer added protection.
    • Holding tanks below the floor collect the salt washed from vehicles, which is then reused in the salt brine manufacturing process.

 Related Links

Snow FAQs
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​​Snow Operations Home​​

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Public Works and Engineering
Williams Parkway Operations Centre - 1975 Williams Parkway
Brampton, Ontario L6S 6E5
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