The City of Saint John remained under a local state of emergency Thursday, as heavy trucks, plows, and blowers clogged the streets in the city’s south end, working to remove snow.
“I was impressed. They were filling the trucks in less than a minute and he just kept rolling and they kept filling and there seemed to be an endless number of trucks,” says Saint John resident Peter Buckland.
To date, more than 1,150 truckloads of snow have been removed from the narrow streets of the south end.
George Lawlor spent the day operating a heavy snow blower, trying to widen Princess Street.
He says getting parked cars off the street is a big help, but motorists need to cooperate too.
“When they are driving by and see us working on the street, go to the next street and take it. Don't come down the street we're working on. It just gets in the way and holds things up,” says Lawlor.
More uptown streets were opened for parking Thursday, as a lot of work had already been done in that area, but the work there is still not finished.
South end resident Geoff Lisson says his street remains one way, at best.
“It would be nice to get it cleaned up. I realize there's one heck of a pile of snow, we'll just wait our turn,” says Lisson.
Dozens of trucks from all over New Brunswick have travelled to the city to help with the cleanup.
“It's really encouraging, whether it be the Town of Sussex or the City of Bathurst, we have communities calling us and offering help and saying, ‘Hey, we have equipment available for you,” says Tim O’Reilly of the Saint John City Works Department.
Fifty extra trucks and snow removal machines were busy working in the south end Thursday, with two dozen more expected Friday.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
