Why the Plow Ridge Across Your Driveway Is So Hard to Move
You finally clear the driveway, and an hour later the city plow drives past and seals it shut again. That ridge has a name, the windrow, and it is the toughest snow on your property.
Why it weighs so much
The plow scrapes slush, salt, sand and chunks of ice off the road and presses them into one dense bank. A metre of windrow can weigh as much as several metres of fresh snow, and it freezes hard within a few hours.
Clear it early
Tackle the ridge as soon as the plow has passed, while it is still soft. Overnight it turns into a block of ice that a shovel barely dents.
Throw it the right way
- Pile the snow on the downstream side of the driveway, the direction the plow travels, so the next pass does not push it back.
- Do not throw it back onto the road. In most GTA cities that is against the bylaw and makes the street worse for everyone.
- Keep sightlines clear: a tall bank beside the driveway hides kids and cyclists when you back out.
Leave a pocket
Some homeowners clear a small "catch area" on the upstream side of the driveway entrance before the plow comes. The blade dumps part of its load there instead of across the driveway.
We clear windrows on request
Call us after the plow has gone by and we break up the ridge, haul it to the side and salt the entrance so you can drive out.
Keep reading: Digging out a buried car · Shovelling without injury · Icicles and roof snow