TRENTON — For contractors and plow operators trying to keep the roads clear this winter, there has been no business like snow business. With more than a month left in the "snow season," the state Department of Transportation is one storm away from setting a record for its most expensive winter of snow removal. New Jersey has racked up...
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TRENTON — For contractors and plow operators trying to keep the roads clear this winter, there has been no business like snow business.
With more than a month left in the "snow season," the state Department of Transportation is one storm away from setting a record for its most expensive winter of snow removal.
New Jersey has racked up $44.4 million in snow removal costs on state roadways this winter — more than twice the state’s $20.3 million allotment, DOT officials said Monday. The total includes materials, overtime, equipment, contractor plowing and spreading services.
The snow season began with freezing rain on Dec. 12, before the official start of winter, and the state is on pace to easily eclipse the previous record of $45 million during the winter of 2002-2003.
"It used to be, six or seven inches of snow was major," state Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson said. "Now, we just shrug it off. We’re like Buffalo or Minnesota now."
Costs during other winters have been $9.2 million in 2001-2002, $37.8 million in 2003-2004 and $32 million in 2008-2009.
Simpson, who took over as transportation commissioner during a brutal winter last year ($41.4 million), has likened this winter to the movie "Groundhog Day," where all snowstorms have seemingly run together on a never-ending day.
The state has already gone through 222,764 tons of salt, 700,009 gallons of liquid calcium chloride and 624,729 gallons of brine. Last winter, the state used 199,191 tons of salt, 616,837 gallons of liquid calcium chloride and 514,009 gallons of brine.
The bigger the storms, the more the state has to call on outside contractors — making an average of about $130 an hour — for assistance.
At the end of the snow season, the DOT will go to the Legislature to announce the final snow removal tally for the winter, DOT spokesman Joe Dee said. In the meantime, he said, the DOT is transferring money from its other accounts to pay for snow removal.
The snow has socked budgets across the state.
Last week, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which oversees the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, authorized an extra $4 million to clear snow from the Parkway — more than twice the $3.91 million that authorized at the start of the 2010-2011 snow season.
"It’s been one of the worst years on record, in terms of loss of traffic, in terms of cost of snow removal," said Simpson, who also sits as the chairman of the Turnpike Authority. "Our first goal is to get the snow removed and manage it effectively, but spare no expense to get the snow removed to make the roadway safe."
He said that in the scope of the $29.4 billion state budget, the extra money for snow removal might not seem significant.
"Although when I look at the snow like that and the moneys that we spent, I say, gee, that money could go to pavement and asphalt and bridges," Simpson said. "It’s unfortunate, but these winters have been harsh. I’m hoping that next year we have no snow and 60 degrees for the season."