Winter Maintenance

The roads used as major travel routes, have the most amount of traffic and higher rates of speed are treated and/or cleared first during a weather event. Examples include Highway 53 and County Road 18.

Fun Fact #1: Highway 403 and Highway 24 (north and south) are maintained by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO).

Fun Fact #2: The County of Brant does not have any Highway Class 1 roads.

View the map of County roads to discover what Highway Class your road is.

If the County of Brant determines that it is likely that ice formation will occur on a roadway, the County will treat the roadway, if practicable, to prevent ice formation within the time set out below:

• Highway Class 1 - respond within 6 hours (the County of Brant does not have any Highway Class 1 roads)
• Highway Class 2 - respond within 8 hours
• Highway Class 3 - respond within 16 hours
• Highway Class 4 - respond within 24 hours
• Highway Class 5 - respond within 24 hours

Once the County of Brant has become aware that the roadway is icy, the standard for treating icy roadways is within the time set out below:

• Highway Class 1 - respond within 3 hours (the County of Brant does not have any Highway Class 1 roads)
• Highway Class 2 - respond within 4 hours
• Highway Class 3 - respond within 8 hours
• Highway Class 4 - respond within 12 hours
• Highway Class 5 - respond within 16 hours

Once the County of Brant becomes aware that there is snow accumulation on the roadway and the depth of the snow is greater than set out below, the County will deploy winter maintenance vehicles, as soon as practicable, to address the snow accumulation.

After the snow accumulation has ended, the County will address the snow accumulation to reduce the snow to a depth less than or equal to the depth and within the time frame, as set out below.

• Highway Class 1 - When the depth of snow is 2.5 cm, we respond within 4 hours (the County of Brant does not have any Highway Class 1 roads)
• Highway Class 2 - When the depth of snow is 5 cm, we respond within 6 hours
• Highway Class 3 - When the depth of snow is 8 cm, we respond within 12 hours
• Highway Class 4 - When the depth of snow is 8 cm, we respond within 16 hours
• Highway Class 5 - When the depth of snow is 10 cm, we respond within 24 hours

If the depth of snow accumulation on a roadway is less than or equal to the depth set out in section above, the roadway is deemed to be in a state of repair.

The County will provide a minimum lane width of three metres for each lane or the actual lane width, whichever is less. On Class 4 and Class 5 highways with two lanes, the County will provide a total width of at least five metres.

The depth of snow accumulation on a roadway may be determined by a County employee, agent or contractor, whose responsibilities include one or more of the following:

1. Patrolling highways
2. Performing highway maintenance activities
3. Supervising staff who perform highway maintenance activities

The depth of snow accumulation on a roadway and lane width may be determined by:

1. Performing an actual measurement
2. Monitoring the weather
3. Performing a visual estimate

Addressing snow accumulation on a roadway includes:

1. Plowing the roadway
2. Salting the roadway
3. Applying abrasive materials to the roadway
4. Applying other chemical or organic agents to the roadway
5. Any combination of the methods

This standard does not apply to that portion of the roadway if it is:

1. Designated for parking
2. Consisting of a bicycle lane or other bicycle facility
3. Used by a municipality for snow storage

A “Significant Weather Event” means an approaching or occurring weather hazard has the potential to pose a significant danger to users of the highways within the County of Brant.

A “Weather Hazard”, as determined by Environment Canada, meets the criteria for the issuance of an alert under its Public Weather Alerting Program.

The County of Brant may declare a 'Significant Weather Event' at any time and at its sole discretion. When the County of Brant declares the beginning or the end of a ‘Significant Weather Event', the County will:

1. Post a notice on the County's website under News and Notices. Subscribe to News and Notices
2. Make an announcement on the County's social media accounts @BrantCommunity
3. Send a Media Release to media partners

If the County declares a ‘Significant Weather Event' relating to snow accumulation, the standard for addressing snow accumulation on roadways does not apply. The County's role is to monitor the weather and when deemed appropriate by the County, deploy resources to address snow accumulation on roadways.

Once the County has declared the end of a ‘Significant Weather Event', the County will address snow accumulation on roadways as per the Minimum Maintenance Standards.