Dundurn fire chief frustrated with lack of plowing on Highway 11

The fire chief in Dundurn isn’t happy with how a stretch of Highway 11 from Dundurn to Hanley was treated after a big dump of snow fell in the area.

The stretch of highway — which includes a valley and some steep hills — was closed overnight Thursday as vehicles struggled to navigate the icy conditions.

At one point, the Saskatoon RCMP was called out a stretch of Highway 11 near Blackstrap Provincial Park after the northbound lanes were blocked because of a jackknifed tractor trailer.

Dundurn Fire Chief Tom Willms said there weren’t any snowplows out helping keep the highway safe, leaving him frustrated.

“In the past they have always been fairly good, but as of lately, I’ve heard there’s been some delay with time and hours, so they were unable to come out the night before and they were unable to come out (Thursday) night,” Willms said. “(We) just simply needed a little sand and salt.”

Willms said RCMP officers called for plows, but were told they weren’t available because of overtime issues.

The fire chief said it’s frustrating to deal with an issue that he feels could’ve been prevented with simple maintenance.

“If plows could’ve come out and sanded it, it would’ve been resolved fairly quickly,” he said.

“I get it, they’ve got a job, but it would sure be nice if somebody was on call with the weather conditions changing – but again, there’s lots of roads to do. A little salt and sand would be nice, but it’s hard to predict when the wind is going to sweep, and there’s lots of road to take care of.”

650 CKOM has reached out to the Ministry of Highways for comment, but hadn’t heard back by the time of publication.

Roads across the province were affected by the storm, with travel not recommended on a number of highways due to the weather.