Another 5 to 10 centimetres of snow fell across Southern Manitoba Tuesday night and that means the province's snow clearing crews are once again hitting the road working to clean up the white stuff.

Mark Allard, Executive Director of Regional Operations for Manitoba Infrastructure, explains that during a snowfall event area foremen conduct regular inspections of the highways, and once snow begins to accumulate on the road he says that's when plows are dispatched to clean it up.

"We focus on our Level One roadways first and those are typically the higher-volume roadways (like) the TransCanada, Highway 75, Highway 59 and Highway 12. Our rule of thumb is to try to have those roads cleared within a four hour period from the end of a storm event."

From there, he says crews move on to the Level 2 and Level 3 roadways.

Allard admits this winter has kept the department busy, especially on gusty days when the wind creates blowing and drifting snow.

Meantime, Allard recommends motorists add 10 to 15 minutes to their travel time during the winter just in case they encounter a plow on the highway and have to slow down to keep safe.

He adds it's also a good idea to check on road conditions before heading out. That can be done on the Road Reports and Cancellations page under the QuickLinks menu at PembinaValleyOnline which links you directly to the province's 5-1-1 road map.