You asked for information on (1) the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) standards for plowing major vs. minor roads and (2) the amount of money spent for snow removal this winter vs. recent winters.

DOT is responsible for maintaining state highways, while municipalities are responsible for maintaining local roads. DOT trucks are assigned to all state highways, major and minor, to remove snow and ice, according to Robert Mongillo, DOT’s Transportation Maintenance Administrator. The first priority is placed on the interstate highways, in part because they carry the bulk of truck traffic. For example, if a storm is forecast for the morning commuting hours, DOT will have trucks on the interstates by 4 a. m. However, DOT seeks to have all highways cleared on a timely basis. It uses its fleet of approximately 630 trucks for snow removal; in the case of major snowfalls (those over four inches) it also uses up to 260 trucks owned by contractors. Mongillo believes that the DOT’s performance in clearing state highways has not suffered even though DOT lost 250 positions due to the Early Retirement Incentive Program.

There have been no changes in DOT policies in recent years regarding the amount of sand and salt it uses and how it deploys trucks.

The amount of money DOT spends for snow removal varies widely from year to year, primarily due to variations in the number and severity of snowstorms. This past winter, which had 12 major storms, DOT spent approximately $ 19,550,000. Last winter, which had 16 storms, DOT spent $ 25. 7 million. In FY 2001-02, when there were only nine storms, DOT spent $ 11,082,000. In FY 2000-01, when there were 17 storms, DOT spent $ 24,259,000. Part of the differences in expenditures reflects changes in the price of salt, which has ranged from $ 25 to $ 35 per ton in recent years.

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