Snow removal stresses budgets

As snowfall across North Carolina continues to pile up, state and local departments are taking a hit financially.

Both the N.C. Department of Transportation and the Chapel Hill Public Works Department are close to exceeding their budgets for snow clearance.

The public works department, which has been preparing for more snow this week, already spent this winter’s $11,000 budget on materials for snow removal in December, said Operations Manager Richard Terrell.

Although the department has reached the budget, it had a full stockpile of salt and sand last week, Terrell said.
NCDOT has used about 84 percent of its $25 million budget for snow and ice removal this fiscal year.

Steve Abbott, a spokesman for the department, said at least $7.1 million of the department’s funds were used to clear roads during the Christmas snowstorm.

Abbott said if the department goes over its budget, there is a $10 million emergency backup fund that can be used.

“Ideally you don’t go over budget, but you can’t control it,” he said. “We are going to take care of it and adjust things.

“We just may have to move money from one place to another.”

Last year NCDOT spent $65 million for snow removal, Abbott said, almost double its budget and the backup fund combined.

“We’re never going to stop plowing the roads, we’re always going to go out and do whatever it takes to keep our drivers safe,” said Lisa Schell, spokeswoman for NCDOT.

During the Christmas snowstorm, NCDOT was responsible for clearing all state-maintained roads. The department has five primary roads in Chapel Hill, including Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Franklin Street and Manning Drive.

The public works department was responsible for maintaining about 150 streets and provided assistance on 15 state-maintained streets that were critical to the bus system, Terrell said.

About 45 people from the public works department were working in two shifts to apply brine to primary streets and key facilities.

“It was an around-the-clock operation for us,” he said.

The Chapel Hill area received about eight inches of snow in December, according to data gathered by the National Weather Service at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, second only to the record 10.6 inches in 1968.

“Our weather is so unpredictable, some years have little to no accumulation, other years we have a significant number of events,” said Terrell.

Orange County is expected to receive one to two inches before Tuesday morning, according to the weather service.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.