Snow removal and ice prevention

Snow removal - Sidewalks

Main street sidewalks such as footpaths and bike lanes connecting different town areas are prioritized for snow removal, along with major sidewalks leading to schools, preschools, bus stops, and the municipality’s main institutions.

Snow removal - Roads

Prioritized roads for snow removal include arterial through roads and major access roads, i.e., emergency services such as the hospital, police and fire department, and bus routes and busy collector roads.

Cul-de-sacs and other less travelled collector roads will not have snow removed unless they become, or are about to become, difficult to pass through for private vehicles or if sleet or thaw is anticipated.

Snow is typically removed from driveways, but during Akureyri municipality's road snow removal processes it is common for snowbanks or snow lumps to partially fill up driveways. Residents should clear this residual snow out for themselves.

Ice prevention

The town's main focus of road ice prevention are steep slopes and intersections. Broken gravel matter with good traction ( grainsize 2-6 mm ) is used for ice prevention. To combat airborne particle matter the finest gravel grains are sifted out, and a small amount of salt ( 5-7% ) is mixed into the remaining gravel. The salt reduces the formation of airborne particles and makes working with the gravel matter during freezing temperatures easier.

Sand bins

Sand bins can be found in a couple of places in Akureyri and residents may take sand from them to use for ice prevention, but they are not meant for contractor usage. Take a look at Akureyri municipality’s spatial information service map below for accurate sand bin locations.

Akureyri municipality’s spatial information service map

Information on all available winter services can be seen on Akureyri municipality’s spatial information service map (in Icelandic). Click the i-symbol to see information on the different winter services, or hover the mouse cursor over the  next to the respective service to see the hierarchy. Tick the small gray boxes next to each service to show or hide the respective information on the map.

Spatial information service map vocabulary