Another winter storm is on the way and those with the state Department of Transportation say they're ready to tackle the snow and ice that comes their way. After a few days of rest between storms, Brent Walker with the DOT says snowplow drivers are ready to hit the roads again. "This is their game. This is what they do. It's their time to shine."
Walker says the employees behind the machinery have done a fabulous job this Winter. What's not going as well is the state's dwindling supply of salt. "We're not in a panic position yet, but there's certainly some highways districts that have been affected by these winter events and they're pretty low," Walker told MetroNews.
Those areas are the Eastern Panhandle, the Eastern Mountains and several counties in Southern West Virginia. The state contracts out each year with salt suppliers to fill up their storage areas whenever they start to get low. With such a harsh winter, though, all across the Mid-Atlantic, those suppliers are having a hard time coming up with enough salt to go around. Walker says, if necessary, the state highway districts will share their salt supplies so that all roads are treated.
The DOH initially budgeted $54 million for road treatments based on previous years. At this point, "We're about $2.8 million over budget." That doesn't count the cost of dealing with the upcoming winter weather headed our way.
For now, Walker says they can't focus on funding. Their job is simply to make the roads as safe as possible. They'll deal with the finances at the end of the Winter on March 31st. The DOT is hoping to receive funding from the federal government from two different state of emergencies that were called earlier this Winter. If need be, they'll go to the state for money.
Walker says, if neither is forthcoming with funds, something will have to give. "It has the ability to affect every program that highways deals with. But initially we take a look at some of those maintenance types of things, pulling ditches and mowing."