Brutal Erie winter carries high price tag
By Ron Leonardi, Erie Times-News, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
For some state agencies, regional municipalities and businesses, extra costs associated with combating the harsh winter have piled up faster than snowfall in a December lake-effect storm.
Heavy snowfall, arctic air masses, brutal subzero wind chills and hazardous road conditions kept AAA crews busy this winter answering scores of service calls.
From
"The bulk of calls were for tows and dead batteries," Powell said. "Our battery-related calls (in
Powell said AAA crews responded to 8,505 service calls in
Powell did not disclose how much in increased costs AAA will incur from the heavy increase in
Powell's
"We have had active weather patterns across our entire five-state region," Powell said. "One thing that has been different this winter is the weather events have been so close together with the ice, snow and subzero temperatures. Everything seemed to fall on top of each other."
But given the extreme winter weather, auto claims were not as much above normal as company officials expected, according to
Company officials attribute that to
Motorists who couldn't avoid accidents have provided steady business for the auto body industry.
From a business standpoint, the harsh winter "is what we live for," said
Howell said he and his 14-person staff have seen a monthly 10 percent to 15 percent increase in colllision-repair jobs since December.
"The amount of collision, I believe, is due to the ice and cold," Howell said. "We've seen underbody suspension damage, the hard, big collision hits where you've had
In the past couple weeks, Howell said his staff has begun to repair a growing number of vehicles damaged by potholes.
"The last winter I remember like this was in 1977-78," said Howell, a lifelong
Keeping
Salt expenses, overtime plowing costs, and equipment repair and maintenance have hiked winter expenditures.
PennDOT has exceeded its
PennDOT's
The agency's 2012-13
"This has been a very harsh winter," Carroll said. "Storms came early and continued with frequency throughout the winter. You can see that reflected in the costs we incurred."
The agency has spent
During the 2012-13 winter season, PennDOT in
PennDOT has incurred
"We believe our crews have met the challenge of keeping roads safe and passable, although that frequently was a very difficult job with the weather patterns that we experienced," Carroll said.
PennDOT has spent
"We also got through the winter in a financially responsible manner," Carroll said. "We do all we can to manage costs while at the same time providing safe and passable roads. We closely monitor material usage and manpower to try to make sure we are using the right application for road conditions."
Typically, the more a PennDOT county maintenance unit is required to spend in the winter, the less it has available to spend on paving and other summer projects, Carroll said.
But this year will be different due to increased funding from
"Because of the increased funding in Act 89,
The township typically orders about 6,000 tons of salt for a winter season.
During the 2012-13 winter, the township used about 6,000 tons of salt and spent about
McGrath said the township's remaining salt supply is only about 100 tons.
"We don't have much on hand right now," he said.
McGrath said
"We've gone through about 38 percent of the overtime budget this year," he said.
When a snowstorm hits, the township sends out its fleet of 17 snow plows, 15 of which are also outfitted with salt spreaders. The fleet will cover seven township routes, and will use "100 tons of salt in a typical snowstorm," McGrath said.
The bulk-purchasing agreement requires
The city of
Zysk said the city used an average of 5,000 tons of salt each winter from the 2008-09 through the 2012-13 winter seasons.
Zysk has spent the past 22 years with the Erie streets department. He was promoted to oversee the department in May.
"It's been an extremely difficult winter. I'm starting out with a doozy," Zysk said.
His plow crews are responsible for maintaining 320 miles of city roads, he said.
"Overtime has been a little more than it would normally be," Zysk said.
Zysk said his crews are prepared for any additional spring snowstorms.
"I've said we've been done with the snow six times now, and then we get more snow and the guys are saying, 'You said we were done,' " Zysk said. "I have to be right one of these times."
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