Mid-January series of severe winter storms spikes ODOT’s hours in overtime, tons of salt, many gallons of deicer used

(Update: Adding video, comments from Davey)

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- It's hard to believe, with Monday's spring-like weather, but two weeks ago most of Oregon was dealing with a days-long severe bout of snow and ice. The winter storm caused a spike in overtime and other supply costs for Oregon's Department of Transportation. 

"Statewide, this is one of the biggest and most wide stretching storms that we've seen in a long time," ODOT Region 4 Public Information Officer Kacey Davey said Monday, after the agency tallied those numbers and costs.

The mid-January series of storms brought ice, high winds and snowfall to most of the state. ODOT crews clearing roads were on 12-hour shifts for a week or more at a time. 

While some communities and crews are still recovering from this storm and the full-scale of the impacts remains to be seen, ODOT said Friday it has some impressive numbers to share for the period between Jan. 12 and Jan. 19.  

Over that week,, ODOT crews worked roughly 20,000 hours of overtime, used 6.5 million pounds of salt and 422,000 gallons of de-icer to clear roads of snow, ice and debris.

Thick ice presented another challenge for ODOT crews. 

"We really don't have a perfect tool to deal with ice," Kacey said. "The only thing you can do is put down some sand or gravel, but that's quickly buried when you have this much freezing rain. So that was a big challenge that tested everyone."

Employees in Region 1, which includes the Portland metro area, portions of the Columbia Gorge and north coast, used 154,860 gallons of liquid de-icer and 2.5 million pounds of salt.  

Region 2, which includes the Willamette Valley, the northern half of Oregon’s coast and the Cascade Range, used 113,601 gallons of de-icer and 1.3 million pounds of salt – the most they’d ever used in a single storm.  

ODOT Director Kris Strickler said, “Numbers alone can’t capture the impacts of winter weather. But they certainly illustrate the expansive efforts of our people working across the state.” 

ODOT employees put in roughly 20,000 hours of overtime during this storm, responding to many issues. From Jan. 12 to Jan. 19, employees responded to 511 reports of hazardous debris, 394 reports of hazardous trees, 95 landslides and rockfalls – and that doesn’t include miscellaneous events involving helping stranded motorists and addressing potholes.  

About 1.2 million people visited ODOT travel conditions website TripCheck in that week, up a whopping 92% from the previous week. The busiest day was Jan. 13, when there were 375,000 visitors. 

While they expect wear and tear on our fleet and equipment, this storm led to damage to 10 plows, two sanders, and 20 trucks of various types, often the result of being hit by other drivers, including four in Central Oregon.

"Our staff live in the communities they serve and take pride in their jobs," ODOT said. "So while our equipment may not weather the storm, we want everyone to get home safely." 

Strickler said, “We're thankful that so many Oregonians heeded our warnings, and those of weather forecasters and other agencies, to stay home.”  

Responding to winter storms takes significant funding, whether we’re talking about roughly $600,000 in fuel in a week or the costs of ensuring a robust response with more than 20,000 hours of additional staff time during this event.   

“Heading into this winter, we were pretty concerned about our ability to provide the service we have in the past,” Strickler said. “Inflation combined with forecast fuels tax declines meant cuts to maintenance around the state.”

Strickler added, “We are still working with our partners to find a long-term solution, but we are very grateful for the anticipated infusion of $19 million in one-time funding from the governor and legislature. The promise of that additional funding made a real difference in our ability to boost our staffing capacity on our roads when it was needed most.” 

To see pictures and videos taken throughout this winter storm, take a look at ODOT's Flickr album.