ODOT winter operations update released

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

LIMA — The Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 1 has released an update on 2018-19 winter operations for each separate county, as well as the district as a whole. With the exception of Van Wert County, area counties’ and the districtwide winter operations costs were lower than last winter.

Overall, with the 2018-19 winter season now hopefully completed, District 1 spent $7,392,996 on removing snow and ice from state and federal highways within the eight-county district, which includes Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert and Wyandot counties. That compares to $7,901842 last winter.

The district used 47,857 tons of salt and 1,115,953 gallons of de-icer this winter, compared to 60,598 tons of salt and 1,148,656 gallons of de-icer last winter.

The breakdown for Van Wert, Paulding, and Putnam counties is as follows:

Van Wert County

• 5,774 tons of salt this winter, versus 7,301 tons last winter
• 359,358 gallons of de-icer this winter, versus 245,486 gallons last winter
• Total cost of $911,966 this winter, versus $902,294 last winter

Paulding County

• 5,197 tons of salt this winter, versus 6,291 tons last winter
• 63,251 gallons of de-icer this winter, versus 63,096 last winter
• Total cost of $827,201 this winter, versus $931,491 last winter

Putnam County

• 5,203 tons of salt this winter, versus 6,291 tons last winter
• 53,957 gallons of de-icer this winter, versus 52,663 gallons last winter
• Total cost of $776,592 this winter, versus $836,033 last winter.