The Missouri Department of Transportation says snow removal won’t be an issue this winter, despite the agency’s downsizing.
MoDOT’s downsizing includes laying off 1,200 workers, closing over 130 facilities, and selling off hundreds of pieces of equipment. State Maintenance Engineer Beth Wright says, though, that the number of workers assigned to remove snow and ice will remain the same.
“We’re confident that we have a good notification system, that we have equipment and people ready, willing and able to perform snow removal or other winter operations," Wright said. "We’re ready to go.”
Wright admits that response times will be affected in areas where a MoDOT facility has closed.
“Because we don’t leave from and return to that facility, they’ll see a slight difference, but it shouldn’t be any different than the other communities where we didn’t have facilities," Wright said. "We have trucks and employees ready to push snow this winter, and we’re confident that we will be successful.”
Wright says continuous snow removal will be conducted as needed on so-called Priority One routes, which include interstate highways, while less-traveled roads will be cleared at least once. Missouri spent nearly $35 million on snow removal last winter.
