“This winter started out quiet. Maintenance crews
capitalized on their summer work late into the fall,” said Steve Lund, MnDOT
state maintenance engineer. “But winter weather during the spring months
quickly made up for that.”
The 2012-13 season snowfall, reported at Minneapolis-St.
Paul International
Airport
“Last year’s warm winter temperatures mixed with below
average snowfall led to an unusual, but opportunistic 2011-12 snow and ice
season for MnDOT,” said Lund
“The good news is the easy winter of 2011-12 was the first
in the state’s 2-year funding cycle, so we were able to leverage second-year
funding for what Mother Nature threw at us during the 2012-13 season,” he said.
Month-by-month
- Winter began to pick up in December for northern Minnesota Northwestern
Minnesota recorded snow and ice events on 20 of the 31 days in the
month. No events were major, but included many small nuisances.
- Several weekend storms throughout January, February and
March caused Interstate 94 in west central Minnesota
- MnDOT districts in the western part of the state ran out
of salt late in the season, and districts in the eastern part sent salt their
way.
- Many crews across the state thought they were done plowing
for the season in April. They were forced to put the plows back on the trucks
and then take them off again a few times this spring.
“It’s important that we spend the necessary amount to
deliver services to the people of Minnesota, even if a severe winter means
impacts to our summer work,” Lund said. “Citizens expect to be able to carry
out normal activities though most weather events and to have quick and
effective clearance shortly after an event has passed.”
MnDOT delivers snowplowing services on some 12,000 miles of
state highway in eight districts that cover all regions of Minnesota
For more information on maintaining Minnesota
