Continuous snow takes big bite out of UDOT snow removal budget


8 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Department of Transportation snowplow crews and incident management teams hit the roads just before the snowstorm arrived on Thursday.

"It's been crazy," said statewide incident management team manager Jeff Reynolds. "Little bit of snow. It's slick. People (are) driving way too fast and are sliding all over the place."

Plow crews have spent a lot of time on the road this winter. It's been that kind of winter.

"It's been stressful. It's been real stressful,” said UDOT incident management team specialist Shane Cowdell. “The weather hasn’t really let up much since around Christmas time."

All of that snow is stressful on the snow removal budget.

"We've had storm after storm, and it looks like it's going to continue,” said UDOT public information officer John Gleason.

Each winter, UDOT budgets around $24 million for snow removal. So far this season, UDOT has spent $15.5 million. At this point in the season, UDOT says they are 5 to 7 percent over budget.

"The top priority for us is making sure that our roads are safe, making sure that they are always plowed," Gleason said.

Regardless of the budget, the job must be done. With about two months left in the snow season, UDOT just might have enough money to make it.

"We are usually right on target. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more," Gleason said.

What happens if snowstorms bust the budget? UDOT has a $2 million contingency fund. If they drain that, they need to pull money from other budget items.

"It's not something we've had to do a lot of in the past,” Gleason said. “We've actually gotten off easy on some of the winters we've had in the last four or five years."

Last year, the budget was over by about $1 million, but a couple million under the year before. But no matter the budgetary circumstance, Gleason said the job will always get done.

"We always get the work done, we are always ready to go,” Gleason said. “The top priority really needs to be keeping our roads safe and making sure that we're plowing the snow.”

In years when they don't go over budget, UDOT said it rolls that money into maintenance projects, like filling potholes and repairing other damage from the winter.

Contributing: Xoel Cardenas

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Jed Boal

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast