The city of Swift Current analyzed the construction of the new overpass, and determined new equipment was needed for snow removal, as the new walkway would not accommodate the current method.

Mitch Minken General Manager for Infrastructure and Operations said, “with the Second Avenue over pass coming we’re going to be a little more restricted to space, because of the design of the side walk, so we’re going to have to do things a little differently, so last year we proposed a piece of equipment that is specialized for cleaning snow and cleaning and sweeping, for doing this kind of work, council approved it so we’re just doing the next step of finishing the tender, and purchasing the equipment.”

The Wille 265 Tractor comes with a snow blower, rotary brush, sand spreader and plow for $178,851.75 + GST. The budget for the purchase was $160,000. The additional expense will be absorbed in the overall equipment purchase budget from savings made on other purchases.

The city will use the tractor to clear 7.6 km of sidewalks that are adjacent to city property.