Spring road restrictions are now in effect in the Rural Municipality of Hanover. They launched Wednesday morning at six o'clock. 

The municipality has posted certain roads at 65 per cent of the normal axle loadings on B1 Municipal roads. Click here to view the map of the impacted roads.

Wes Fehr is Manager of Works and Operations. He says March 27th is the exact same starting day as in 2023. However, Fehr notes there is not a set date for when the restrictions take effect each year in Hanover. Rather, he says this is something they start watching for with the arrival of spring each year.

"We start looking at the forecast and discussing what we are going to be doing going forward, come early March," explains Fehr.

He says based on the forecast, this feels like the right time to implement the restrictions. Fehr says with temperatures expected to climb over the next two weeks and with the sun more directly above us, municipal roads will start getting soft. 

Though there is no way to know for sure what sort of spring it will be for roads in Hanover, Fehr says they are anticipating heading into a drier spring, which would bode well for infrastructure. 

"So, we're hoping that will be better for us, as far as roads are concerned," adds Fehr.

Having said that, Fehr notes they are seeing a lot of frost heaving, which means there is a lot of moisture that is still moving beneath the ground. As for what that means for rural roads, Fehr admits he is not entirely sure at this point.

Meanwhile, Fehr says he had actually expected an earlier start for their restrictions this year. With the many stretches of warm weather this last winter, Fehr says they were on the bubble, trying to determine the best starting date. He notes the province launched its restrictions about 10 days ago, yet that felt too early for Hanover.

"We went day by day there for a while," notes Fehr. "Looking back, we're glad we did that to accommodate as many people and contractors as we can. But looking forward now, now I think it's time we have to actually implement and go forward."

In Hanover, spring road restrictions are expected to be in place until the end of day on May 26.