The Wyoming Department of Transportation will be forced to make tough decisions amidst a tight budget and one of those will be a different process of road plowing.
The roads will still get plowed, but it the surface may stay snowier for longer. Tactics such as magnesium, salt, and chloride will all still be used to deafen the ice and snow on the roads, but supplies will be limited.
WYDOT director Luke Reiner said according to the Powell Tribune that “we want to assure the public that we will continue to maintain the roads during winter storms to ensure we provide a safe and effective transportation system” said Reiner. He did assure the public that “our crews will be out there diligently working to clear the roads.”
Every state agency has their snowplow priority plan and with the budget cuts that plan has modified but still focuses on keeping people here safe. The plan gets into specifics on how the department will handle moderate to high risk situations on the roads.
Reiner said that “we will have to strictly adhere to our winter maintenance budget, which means there likely won’t be any wiggle room to go over budget if we have a particularly severe winter, however, we will continue to provide winter maintenance services based on our limited budget.”
So make sure and stay extra safe out there this winter as there may not be the same amount of road assistance you are used to.
For the full snowplow priority plan go to WYDOT’s website.
