Last week, the warm weather lead to some temporary road bans.

This week, with the return of the cold, these bans have been lifted off grid roads, allowing winter weights to resume.

According to a staff member at the RM of Swift Current, normally these winter weight restrictions stay in place through February, not lifting until March or April at the soonest. Due to the recent mild temperatures, the thawing of the roads was cause for caution, thus the implementation of the road bans.

When gravel or dirt roads are thawed out, higher-end weight vehicles and trailers are able to displace the surface structure. This wears out the roads, leading to bumpy, pitted, and in some cases flooded roadways.

In order to combat deterioration, certain roads can be shut down for a time, and most will have weight restrictions put upon them. This saves money and labour on maintaining and repairing the roads.

For now, winter weights are up and going for the grid roads in the RM of Swift Current. Folks can expect road bans to resume, pending on how the weather plays out, towards the later end of spring.