Advertisement
A Tally Of Our Misery: Mass. Spent $154M On Winter Operations
With temperatures expected to hit 80 degrees today, a new survey offers a unwanted look back at exactly how much this year's record-breaking winter cost us.
Massachusetts spent more than $150 million in snow removal costs, according to a survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. In the survey of 23 states, more than $1 billion was spent, 8 million work hours were logged, and 6 million tons of salt were used for winter operations from October to March.
Here's how the numbers break down for Massachusetts:
- $153.7 million spent on winter operations
- $98 million of that spent to hire personnel and rent equipment
- 600,000 tons of salt used
- 1.6 million gallons of liquid deicer used
- 296,000 hours worked on winter operations
In Boston, the miserable winter also broke records. It was the snowiest season on record in Boston, with 110 inches of snow falling on the city. And the Jan. 26-27 blizzard became the sixth-biggest snowstorm in Boston history, after dumping more than 2 feet of snow on the city.
Boston spent about $40 million on snow operations this winter, according to the mayor's office — far surpassing its $18 million snow budget. The city used more than 114,000 tons of salt and logged more than 210,000 work hours to battle the weather, according to the city's snow stats website.
While the new survey provides an unpleasant trip down memory lane, at least we're not in the same boat as Michigan, which responded to one part of the survey by saying, "Winter is not done."
Enjoy the sunshine and high temps today, Boston!
