SHA says most of it was used in Western Maryland.
This year's mild winter hasn't meant a lot of down time for Maryland State Highway Administration crews. The agency says it has been busy clearing off roads in Western Maryland, which was hit hard by heavy snow this season. "In fact, they received, in one county {Garrett}, approximately 85 inches of snow over the course of the snow season," says SHA spokeswoman Kellie Boulware. "A lot of our operations, when we did have snow operations, were either in Western Maryland, and when we had a call out for a few pre-treatment activities, or for just routine standby operations."
She says SHA has spent $30-million out of the $36-million set aside for snow-clearing operations. "Typically, we do average between $50- to $60-million a year. Normally, we do set our budget, and, of course, apply for budget amendments. But in recent years, we've had to make adjustments financially to make sure we're covering all costs."
Because winter is not over yet, Boulware says, despite this drawn down in funds, SHA will find the money for plowing and treating the roads if a winter storm hits the state in March. "We do try to work within our budget. If we need to, as we've done in several past years, we'll have to make adjustments in our maintenance operation budget and other areas to accommodate for any overages that we have," she says.
But the good news, says Boulware, is the unused road salt purchased for this winter can be used next year. She says SHA ordered 340,000 tons of salt for this winter, but has only used 82,000 tons.
