Snowploughs put on alert in Helsinki - freezing weather expected

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The winter maintenance units of the Helsinki City Public Works Department are ready to act instantly when snow falls across the region. The big vehicles have been maintenanced, oiled and polished, and staff have been put on alert. The ploughs will be driven on to the main arteries of the city immediately when needed.
     
"We are looking forward to getting to work", admitted drivers Jari Naakka and Tapio Metsäkorpi on Monday, when the winter maintenance units of the City of Helsinki were put on alert.
      The crews will be standing by until the end of March and even longer if necessary. They include all of the roughly 350 employees.
      Apart from maintenance, plans have been made in the course of the summer and autumn to create for each employee and vehicle a route of their own.
     
"Even if the alarm was given in the middle of the night, all vehicles would be working within an hour. The snow will be cleared away from the major roads first, and thereafter we will gradually move to smaller roads and streets", foreman Matti Ahtiainen promised.
      This is not the first time when Ahtiainen is fighting against snowy streets, for he is about to start his 37th year. He said that a lot has changed over the years, but the greatest change applies to the winter itself.
     
"The fact that winters are becoming milder has perversely made our work more difficult. In the old days, the snow stayed until the spring, whereas nowadays it may thaw many times, which naturally increases our work. Anyway, even current winters are not all similar", Ahtiainen indicated.
      According to weather forecasts, the temperatures in Finland are expected to drop to between - 1°C in the south and -18°C in the north of the country, and snow showers are expected to fall across the capital region within a few days.
      According to Ahtiainen, this will occur on Thursday, as Wednesday just happens to be his last working day before retirement. On the other hand, maybe the unit's internal sweepstake prize will this time go to someone else.


Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute
  Finnra Traffic Information Centre

Helsingin Sanomat