WASHINGTON — Winter storms that have repeatedly slammed the D.C. region this season have led to some steep budget shortfalls for statewide cleanup crews.
In Virginia, the Department of Transportation has a substantial snow removal budget of $145 million, but the agency has now surpassed that.
“We’ve blown through the whole budget,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Wednesday on WTOP’s Ask the Governor program.
The agency will need to fill in the financial gaps using money from elsewhere.
“The snow budget comes from a much larger maintenance budget, and we can use resources from that,” says VDOT spokeswoman Tamara Rollison.
The same situation is unfolding in Maryland.
“The budget that was assigned for this winter is $51 million,” says Maryland State Highway Administration spokeswoman Lora Rakowski.
This season, the agency has spent $87 million so far.
“There is some flexibility in the overall operating budget to accommodate for those extra costs based on what we’re seeing throughout the winter,” Rakowski explains.
Local agencies also spent more than budgeted in 2014.
