CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Winter Storm Jonas, one of the largest snowstorms to ever hit the East Coast, cost the West Virginia Division of Highways nearly $9 million dollars, according to early estimated state figures.
“It is a big storm,” said Carrie Bly, communications specialist for the state Department of Transportation, of the expenses that were amassed for equipment, labor, materials, contract workers and contract equipment from Friday, Jan. 22, when the storm first hit the Mountain State, through Saturday, Jan. 30.
That total cost, $8,891,869 specifically, is expected to rise.
Bly said 154,389 total employee hours were devoted to snow and ice removal on roads across West Virginia using 27,782 tons of salt. “That’s a lot of time and a lot of hard work that our crews put into clearing up after the storm,” Bly told MetroNews.
At times, heavy snow closed portions of West Virginia’s major highways.
In the hardest hit counties of Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson, where some areas saw more than 40 in. of snow, a variety of equipment was used to move snow from roads including farm tractors with plows, tractors with snow blowers, bulldozers and backhoes.
At 42 in., Glengary in Berkeley County recorded the largest snow accumulation from Winter Storm Jonas on the entire East Coast, according to the National Weather Service.
In most areas, road clearing efforts had wrapped up by Thursday and Friday of last week.
“Some of the snow removal efforts did go into Saturday for counties like Berkeley and Jefferson, because they were able to get all of the roads open or passable, as we would say, to at least one lane, but we had to go back and widen,” Bly said.
In District Five, two contractors were brought in to help in Berkeley County, 12 in Hampshire County, five in Hardy County, seven in Jefferson County, three in Morgan County, three for Interstate 81 and four were assigned to W.Va. Route 9 and U.S. Route 340.
In District Four, which includes Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston and Taylor counties, more than a dozen pieces of additional equipment were rented.
The mild winter West Virginia had seen prior to Jonas helped in the storm’s response, Bly said.
“We had our manpower ready. They hadn’t really been faced with anything as tough as this and, hopefully, they won’t again for quite some time,” she said. “We had the salt. We had the supplies. Our equipment and drivers were not fatigued.”
About 60 percent of the way through this year’s snow removal and ice control season in West Virginia, Bly indicated the DOH had spent just more than 40 percent of the budget for the winter snow clearing efforts, as of Tuesday morning.
“If we were to face another event like this, we would be able to handle it, but we certainly would be fine with not having to deal with anything like this or any more snow this season,” Bly said.