Lack of snow this season spares PennDOT resources

Compared with this time last year, the Delaware Valley has gotten very little snowfall.

That’s good news for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The state has saved money because it hasn’t had to clean up much snow, said Gene Blaum, a PennDOT spokesman.

So far this fall and winter, PennDOT has used about 8,000 tons of salt in the Philadelphia region, Blaum said. During the same period last year, it used about 43,000 tons.

“We have obviously saved funding from manpower, material usage, not having to call in our contractors,” said Blaum.

Blaum said there were four snowstorms in the Delaware Valley last December. There have been none so far this month, though some forecasters are calling for light snow in the region at the end of the year.