After severe winter storms, state’s road-clearing budget in the red

It might be hard to believe, but Seattle saw 11.2 inches of snowfall so far this year. And that has eaten up the state’s road-clearing budget.

Photos: Snow blankets Seattle-area roads on Monday

The Washington State Department of Transportation is asking the state Legislature for a $5 million boost in their budget to cover the costs of clearing out all the extra snow we’ve received this year.

“We plan a budget every year based on historical trends, but if we have just really, really strong storms that hammer a region for several days it’s going to take more supplies and more people to respond to that,” state spokesperson Barbara LaBoe said.

For example, the state deployed 25 trucks for King and Snohomish counties alone to handle the storm that caught many off guard on Monday.

LaBoe says the money would go toward what they’ve already spent. She says if the request is denied, they will shift around their budget until they meet their needs.

The department had $85 million for snow removal in the 2015-17 state budget. The Associated Press reports the department was running around $1.2 million under projected costs in December 2015, but the budget went $1.4 million into the red this past December.

January and February are expected to cost an additional $3.6 million with more snow in the forecast.