There could be some good news for Tri-Cities residents after this week's winter wallop.

The snowfall may have left a mess on the roads, but it didn't appear to blow a hole in the snow removal budgets of at least two of the three municipalities.

In the case of Port Moody, the city has spent $191,634 on snow removal in 2012.

The snow budget for the year, which works off the calendar year as opposed to the traditional fiscal year, is set at $280,991.

It leaves the City of the Arts with just about $90,000 to play with for the remainder of December.

"We think that this will get us through the rest of the year," said Mayor Mike Clay in an e-mail to The NOW, adding failing that, the city has $200,000 in reserves for snow removal.

It's a slightly tighter situation in Port Coquitlam.

The city has spent $228,000 on snow removal this year.

The 2012 budget for snow removal in PoCo was set at $251,000.

PoCo city officials noted the snow removal budget changes from year to year to reflect inflation rates, increased fuel costs and any new inventory.

The City of Coquitlam did not respond The NOW prior to press deadline.

Though Tuesday's sudden snow wreaked havoc on the roads around the Tri-Cities, Wednesday was a much quieter event, unless you travelled the new Port Mann Bridge.

According to a story in The Vancouver Sun, falling ice on the newly opened $3.3-billion Port Mann Bridge hit dozens of cars and injured at least one person Wednesday, raising questions about safety and bridge design.

The bridge - which normally sees daily traffic of about 110,000 cars - was closed at 2 p.m. and reopened at 6 p.m.

There were reports of the ice, which fell from the bridge's soaring support cables, damaging windshields, and of one person being knocked unconscious.

RCMP said ice started falling about 1 p.m.

On Thursday, it was reported the Transportation Investment Corp., which operates the bridge, will cover the deductibles of any drivers who filed claims.

jdeutsch@thenownews.com