KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was a record year when it comes to the cost of snow and ice removal in Kansas.
The Kansas Department of Transportation told 41 Action News it spent $27.2 million, setting a new record for the first time since 2008.
Here's what KDOT spent over the past 10 years:
FY 2019 – $27.2 million
FY 2018 – $14.6 million
FY 2017 – $10.2 million
FY 2016 – $13.5 million
FY 2015 – $16.2 million
FY 2014 – $22.6 million
FY 2013 – $18.5 million
FY 2012 – $6.9 million
FY 2011 – $17.9 million
FY 2010 – $19.8 million
FY 2009 – $11.3 million
FY 2008 – $23.7 million
It was a tough winter for Overland Park, according to maintenance manager Rich Profaizer.
"Not just in terms of snow depths. That's a misnomer,” Profaizer said. “I think people say you have 33 or 37 inches of snow, you had a bad winter, but really it's the number of events.”
They counted 19 last winter, including snow and ice.
"That's 19 times we had to call crews in,” Profaizer added. “That's 19 times you have to salt the roads. That's 19 times you have the wear and tear on equipment and it's also wearing on the public.”
Since 2003, Overland Park has used anywhere from roughly 3,700 tons of salt to nearly 13,000 tons in a given year. Prior to the 2018-19 season, with a total of 33.6 inches of snow, the largest amount of salt was in 2003-04, where 20.3 inches of snow among eight events prompted the use of more than 11,500 tons of salt.
The story is the same in Kansas City, Kansas. The city spent $1.3 million last year battling winter weather. In both cities, that's 40 percent more than a normal season.
Dave Reno, of KCK Public Works, said that this year the city hosted its first Snow Rodeo.
"All of our plow drivers got together,” Reno said. “We ran them through a course so they could practice together, get used to going through tight situations and then figuring out what we need to do maintenance wise to make sure that we're ready to go for this winter."
In Overland Park,
Tune in to 41 Action News to get our winter forecast on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
