Damage to soft roads | Weather conditions will be considered in enforcing weight restrictions
Farmers who have waited most of the winter for a chance to move grain will soon be facing another hurdle: soft roads and mucky spring weather.
The arrival of warmer temperatures means more grain is moving from prairie elevators and delivery opportunities are improving.
Deliveries to primary elevators in Western Canada surpassed 416,000 tonnes in Week 32 of the 2013-14 crop year, which is the week ending March 16. It is the biggest weekly delivery since last September.
However, warmer weather is presenting new challenges.
Road conditions are less than ideal in many regions, and getting grain out of the yard, let alone from the farm to the elevator, can be messy.
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Annual weight restrictions are now in effect on many provincial highways across Western Canada.
However, government officials across the West say they will take a more flexible approach this year to enforcing weight restrictions.
In Saskatchewan, provincial highways spokesperson Doug Wakabayashi said due to problems in the transportation system, the highways ministry will exercise flexibility in the management of road bans and seasonal weight restrictions.
“What that means is that in certain circumstances, shippers can apply for permits that would allow for heavier-than-published spring weights.”
Wakabayashi said Saskatchewan shippers can request a permit by contacting one of 15 regional highways ministry offices.
Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis with permits issued in instances where the risk of road damage has been identified as minimal. Colder temperatures will also be considered.
“We do need to protect against excessive road damage so that will obviously be the key consideration, but if there are circumstances where that risk is minimal, we’ll certainly consider permits” he said.
Doug Dobrowolski, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, said the province and the AMM are working together to ensure that grain can be moved efficiently when provincial and municipal road bans and weight restrictions are normally in place.
The province plans to assess local road conditions on a regular basis and decide on a case by case basis whether restrictions should be imposed.
“What the province has done in the past is they’ve had fixed dates for road restrictions,” Dobrowolski said.
“Now it’s a different formula. They (consider) temperatures, they consider road conditions and they consider frost conditions, so it allows for a longer season that guys can run without restrictions, and it seems to be working in Manitoba.”
Rural municipalities have jurisdiction over their own roads, meaning rural councils are responsible for applying bans and weight restrictions.
Dobrowolski said municipal road bans are often applied at the same time that provincial weight restrictions come into effect.However, municipal and provincial authorities are taking a more flexible approach this year due to problems surrounded grain transportation.
AMM is part of a provincial task force, which has identified areas where on-farm grain stocks are unusually high and is taking steps to ease restrictions on grain movement.
