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SALT LAKE CITY -- A new study on snow removal says if Utah was hit by a massive snowstorm that shut the state's roads down, the state would lose $66 million every day the state was shuttered.
The study comes from the American Highway Users Alliance and IHS Global which looked at the economic impact of large snowstorms on 16 states.
"Lost wages of hourly workers account for about two-thirds of the direct economic impact of a major snowstorm," said James Gillula, managing director of Global Insight and the principal researcher of the study in a press release. "Among all workers, hourly wage workers can suffer the most painful economic losses, and the indirect economic effects of their lost wages can ripple through the economy."
The Utah Department of Transportation says a large storm costs it a million dollars to clean up, and during an average year it uses up its budget of $22 million.
"Because we didn't have as many storms as we've had in the past I think we're sitting in a pretty good location right now," said UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo.
Carrillo says UDOT won't have the total amount of money spent this winter clearing roads totaled up until June since crews continue to plow during spring storms in the higher elevations.
To read more on the study, click here.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
