Photo Courtesy Country of Grande Prairie

By Tanner Smith

Snow Removal

County of Grande Prairie hoping residential roads are “bare bones” by the end of the week

Jan 6, 2026 | 1:07 PM

The County of Grande Prairie is trying to get all residential roads fully cleared this week, with a break in the freezing weather.

County Transportation and Utilities General Manager Ryan Konowalyk says recent freezing temperatures have presented challenges for County crews.

“Some of the buildup that has happened with the multiple snowfalls, when the weather is too cold, the salt doesn’t do a lot. So this is a perfect opportunity for us to be able to try to burn that off.”

“We ask when our temporary parking bans are on, they (residents) move their vehicles. It gives the equipment a chance to actually get in and get that material moved into the center of the roads.”

Konowalyk says frequent heavy snowfall is also causing its own issues for residents, as the way removal operations work, it can be a week before some areas see removal during a big dump.

“You know, as an example, we started today (Tuesday, Jan. 6) another round of our urban snow removal in Clairmont. We’d be moving into Whispering Ridge and Westlake midweek and then finishing up at Taylor and Maple by the end of the week. So it kind of takes us a full week to get through a full round, and those timings are kind of the best for us based on garbage pickup days.”

Konowalyk adds that crews have been “full out” with 22 graders, nine plow trucks, and snowblowers, but fully clearing the roads remains a challenge thanks to the record-breaking snowfall.

“Environment Canada released a statistic that we’ve had 418% more snow than the 30-year average. It’s the fourth most that we’ve had in 30 years, and another 30 cms the first four days of January.”

According to Canada Weather Stats, last January, Grande Prairie saw only 18.8 cm of snow.

Snow removal operations will now resume tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan. 7) in La Glace.

Anyone wanting more information on County snow removal operations can visit the County’s website.