VDOT Snow Removal Will Remain Unaffected Says Mike Branham

Officials of Virginia Department of Transportation have declared that snow removal operation will remain as usual like every year and will not be affected due to layoffs and budget cuts.

They said they consider snow removal as an emergency service and the level of service will not be compromised. Mike Branham, District Maintenance Engineer of VDOT said the next layoff announcement in coming winter will take effect in next year and maintenance employees will not be included in that.

VDOT is prepared to handle any kind of situation and they have already made themselves ready for the task. According to the officials, VDOT is equipped with 239,000 tons of road salts and 2314 pieces of snow removal machinery to execute the task and make the roads clear.

Bristol District got highest snow removal budget of $11.9 million out of $79.6 million for the entire state. Randy Felty, with his 25 years of experience in driving snow removal equipment for VDOT said only snow removal efforts from the Department is not enough is reduce the motor accidents in winter season. Motorist should be cautious and careful while driving. He advised to use alternate route using main roads in the winter as those will be cleared first.