Last year’s pilot project to test out snow fences in Agassiz is being continued this winter.
According to an Oct. 29 report from the District of Kent’s engineering department, the 2018 snow fencing pilot project did not get the results the district had hoped for.
There wasn’t enough snow to test the effectiveness of the fences in enhancing safety and reducing snow plow requirements, the report reads, and heavy winds damaged some of the fences by the end of the season.
RELATED: District of Kent to implement snow fence pilot project
This year, the district will be undertaking the project yet again, taking with it some of the lessons from the 2018-19 winter: that stronger material is needed to withstand Agassiz’s winds, and better ways to attach the fence to steel posts are required.
For this winter, the district will be purchasing some new fencing to replace ones that were damaged last year.
The district will be using the same snow fencing that is installed by the Ministry of Transportation on Lougheed Highway, which is expected to hold up better against the wind.
Fences will be installed in three locations on the east side of the Haig Highway: about 500 feet of fencing on McCartney Road, starting at the Scott Road intersection; about 300 feet of fencing on Tramner Road as it forks off from Morrow and Scott Roads; and about 1,700 feet of fencing on McDonald Road between Tramner and Dyke Roads.
The purchase of new fencing will be paid for through the 2019 snow and ice control budget.
grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com
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