Winter Maintenance in the Province of Ontario

• Significant effort is made to make highways safe and provide efficient winter maintenance service for the public.
• Our winter maintenance services are provided through contractors, which are directly responsible for responding to the variety of winter conditions we experience.  These contractors are governed by a variety of contract standards and specifications. 
• Ministry staff oversee these contracts to ensure contractors deliver on their obligations.  The ministry has a variety of progressive options from verbal discussion or warning to financial penalties to ensure contract compliance.
• As always, drivers also need to be prepared and adjust their driving to winter conditions.  For more information on Winter Driving please visit  http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/winterdrive/winterdrive.shtml.
• Ontario’s highways are the safest in North America.

What are the activities that MTO and its contractors do to prepare and manage the roads during a winter storm?

During the winter drivers can expect the following activities:

Before a storm

• Check for changing road and weather conditions.
• Make sure staff, supplies and equipment are ready and available.
• When it is best to do so, apply anti-icing liquid to the highway surface.
• Plan when to start salting, sanding or plowing operations.

During a storm

• Continue to check road, weather and traffic conditions.
• Apply salt or anti-icing liquid to help prevent the snow from bonding to the highway surface.
• Allow time for the salt to do its job.
• Follow pre-determined routes to ensure the busier highways are serviced first.
• Start plowing the snow from the through lanes.
• After the through lanes are cleared, start removing snow from exit ramps, turning, truck climbing and passing lanes, shoulders and medians.
• Continue plowing snow and applying salt and sand throughout the storm to minimize snow accumulation and maintain traction.
• When it is too cold for salt to work, apply sand to the highway to improve friction.
• Assist the OPP with road closures and emergencies when required.
• Restock salt, sand and anti-icing liquids as required.

After a storm

• Continue to check road, weather and traffic conditions.
• Continue to plow, salt or sand the highway until the surface returns to bare pavement standards.
• Remove snow from shoulders, medians, truck climbing and passing lanes.
• Remove any snow banks that may cause a hazard.
• Remove any snow or ice that may cause drainage problems at ditches and culverts.
• Check for damage to items such as signs and guiderail that may have occurred during the storm and make repairs.
• Inspect and, if required, repair winter equipment.
• Restock salt, sand and anti-icing liquids.

The public can expect:

• Plowing, salting or sanding and clean-up after the storm.
• Plowing to commence when 2 cm of snow or slush accumulate on the roadway.
• Equipment to be deployed within 30 minutes of the start of a winter storm.
• Crews monitoring the winter storm and adjusting operations as required for intensity, duration and precipitation type.

The public should be aware, however, that in winter:

• A severe or long storm may delay restoring highway to bare pavement standards, even with the best efforts of highway crews.
• It may take up to eight hours for plows or sanders to begin servicing ramps and low-volume roads.
• Extreme weather may result in the closing of highways.
• Weather conditions can be variable and unpredictable, placing extra demands on a vehicle and a person’s driving skills.
• Salt becomes ineffective for melting ice and snow at temperatures below minus 12˚C.

What results can be expected?

• MTO sets performance targets for snow and ice control to achieve the bare pavement standard after the end of the storm. The bare pavement standard for each class of highway is:
  • Eight hours for freeways and multi-lane highways, e.g. Highway 401, Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 11 and four-lane sections (Class 1).
  • Sixteen hours for high traffic volume, two-lane highways, e.g. Highway 17 Trans-Canada (Class 2).
  • Twenty-four hours for medium traffic volume, two-lane highways, eg. Highway 35 (Class 3).
  • Twenty-four hours to centre bare for low volume, two-lane highways, e.g. Highway 516 (Class 4).
  • Some highways with low traffic remain snow packed for most of the winter (Class 5).
  • On Class 5 highways, excess snow is plowed off and sand is applied to improve friction.
• Ministry performance target is to achieve bare pavement within the standard timeframe for 90% of winter storms. The result is publicly reported on an annual basis.

Winter Highway Contract Standards

The Ministry of Transportation has numerous contracts in place to provide winter maintenance services.

To view a list of area maintenance contractors and phone numbers, click here.

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