Snow removal can be an exhausting and daunting task, especially if you are only armed with a shovel. 

That said, the job takes it's toll on even the strongest equipment put against it, and that includes the machines used by the City of Estevan.

Roads and Drainage Manager Norm Mack revealed how their units lasted throughout the winter.

"Our snow removal equipment held up quite well this year, only because we do a lot of preventative maintenance. We feel that's really important to do to keep our fleet going."

"With that, however, comes many hours on some of these pieces of machinery, such as graders, loaders and trucks," he added.

"We have to have a fleet renewal plan in place, where some of this is sold off, and we need new stuff to replace it."

Mack noted that it is important to have late model equipment, especially in times of need such as last winter.

At Monday night's council meeting, several tenders were approved to accomplish just that. The new machines include a six wheel drive grader, a tandem gravel truck, and a skid steer.

"Some of our gravel trucks were getting dated, putting on a lot of miles and hours," explained Mack.

"The skid steer is another piece of equipment that we have really utilized over the last couple of years, focusing on snow removal and power sweeping on the walking paths."

He said that the bids to provide the units were open province wide.