ODOT Dist. 1 ice-snow removal costs rise

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

LIMA — While the Ohio Department of Transportation’s cost of snow and ice removal in Van Wert County and the other seven counties that make up District 1 has nearly doubled from last year’s totals, it is still far from the record, according to a winter update released this week.

A breakdown of Van Wert County snow and ice removal costs show that the Van Wert County ODOT garage has used 5,603 tons of salt so far this winter, up from 2,393 tons of salt by this time last year. It has also used a whopping 112,154 gallons of de-icing liquids, nearly six times more than the 19,070 gallons of de-icing liquids used at the same time last year.

Van Wert County has been a leader in ODOT District 1 in the use of de-icing liquids, with the use of de-icers locally more than double the use in neighboring Paulding and Putnam counties — and nearly a fifth of the total District 1 use of de-icing liquids.

To compare, Paulding County has used 42,048 gallons of de-icers, while Putnam County’s de-icer usage is at 38,275 gallons. While both counties’ de-icer use is up significantly from last year, the two counties together have used less than Van Wert County has by itself.

Combined totals for usage across ODOT’s District 1 is also up substantially from last winter, with the district, which comprises Allen, Defiance, Hardin, Hancock, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, and Wyandot counties, using a total of 4,963 tons of salt, up from 2,828 tons last winter; 567,023 gallons of de-icers, compared to a total of 281,457 gallons of de-icer last winter; with a total cost for snow and ice removal of $5,481,518, versus $3,089,110 last winter.

While ODOT’s District 1 has spent a substantial amount this year on snow and ice removal — especially when compared to last winter — the amount spent this year by ODOT’s District 1 is still far from the record. That came during the winter of 2014-15, when ODOT’s District 1 spent a total of $8.7 million in snow and ice removal costs, and that is in 2014-15 dollars.