Removal costs for snow are piling up in Cape

Winter storms have blanketed the city of Cape Girardeau with a blizzard of ever-rising expenses that have reached nearly $183,000 since December and left city road crews weary of the repeated battles with snow.

"Snow becomes a dirty word," said Tim Gramling, assistant director of public works, who has seen the street crews clearing snow more often than usual this winter.

And when they're not out pushing back snow, crews are hard at work in the city garage preparing for the next big storm.

A winter storm that moved across Missouri on Thursday lessened in intensity during the day and skipped the Cape Girardeau area.

"We're kissing the radar," said Gramling who watched the track of the storm on radar by computer in the public works office.

Counting the increase

Cape Girardeau public works officials said 29 inches of snow have fallen at the department's headquarters on Kingshighway since December, including 3 inches on Sunday.

John Dissauer, a meteorologist at KFVS-12, said 23.3 inches of snow have fallen at the Cape Girardeau television station since December.

Dissauer said different areas in the same city can receive differing amounts of snowfall depending on the storm. That can explain why public works and the television station show different amounts of snowfall, he said.

Regardless of the amount, the storms have been a drain on an already tight city budget. Doug Leslie, public works director, said the added costs could leave the city with less money to do street repairs this summer.

The city has a $1.6 million street maintenance budget. Snow removal comes out of that budget.

The city normally spends about $50,000 a year clearing roads. The city has spent more than three times that amount this winter including nearly $132,000 for salt, Leslie said.

Salt costs over $40 a ton. The city has used 3,000 tons of salt so far, more than three times the amount typically dumped on streets in the course of a winter, Leslie said.

Labor costs to clear snow so far have totaled nearly $28,000, including more than $14,000 in overtime expenses. Through Wednesday, city crews have racked up 700 hours of overtime, Gramling said.

"A lot of these storms have hit on weekends or holidays," Gramling said. That has contributed to overtime costs, he said.

A single storm can keep snow plows running for 20 hours to clear all the streets, public works officials said.

"Three or four storms is a usual winter, and we're up to nine," Gramling said.

Mild-weather memories

Last winter was mild by comparison. The city spent only $30,500 on clearing streets. Most of that -- $22,500 -- went to buy salt.

Leslie said he's not complaining about the cost of this year's snow clearing. "It's an investment in safety and restoration of commerce," he said.

Still, the winter weather has taken its toll on man, machine and pavement.

"It's rough on the roads. It's rough on the trucks," Leslie said.

The street division has two nine-member crews involved in removing snow from the 220 miles of city streets.

Harry Salazar, street foreman, helps direct the snow fight. Salazar said steering a 10-foot-wide snowplow and salt-loaded truck -- the city has seven of them -- through narrow residential streets with cars parked on both sides can be a tough task, particularly in a driving snowstorm.

"You just have to try to squeeze through," he said.

The ride can be jarring, public works officials said, particularly when the metal plows strike raised manhole covers. "It literally just slams you against the front of the truck," Salazar said.

The snow and ice, freezing and thawing, and the clearing of the streets with salt and a liquid melting agent damages roads. The plows damage the streets too, Leslie said.

It all adds up to more road repairs, another expense that public works officials blame on Old Man Winter.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123