Michigan Department of Transportation officials are beginning to add up the price tag of a harsh winter that dumped months of snow and ice on Metro Detroit.
They said the cost could affect the summer maintenance budget.
MDOT crews in the Metro region used more than 111,000 tons of salt this winter, about 35% above average.
Officials say it was one of the most expensive winters in recent years.
The heavy salting and frequent freeze-thaw cycles are now also contributing to a surge in potholes, requiring additional repairs as spring begins.
“It has been a tough winter. There was a lot of snow, so we used a lot of salt. More than our normal average,” said Diane Cross, a spokesperson for MDOT.
The increased spending has raised questions about whether the department will scale back maintenance later this year.
Cross said it is too soon to know whether any budget adjustments will be needed.
However, she emphasized that safety and planned projects would not be impacted.
“We will always take care of the safety issues first,” Cross said. “The only area we may have a little leniency in are things like landscaping or trash pickup. But even that, at times, is a priority because the trash gets blown into our catch-basin drains on our freeways, and then when we get flooding.”
MDOT said we likely won’t know the full financial impact of this winter for a while, noting that expenses for plowing, salting, equipment use, and labor are still being tallied.
Besides weather, MDOT also spends a lot of money repairing damage from crashes.
Cross said that safer driving can help the department allocate more dollars to road improvements rather than repairs.