SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The most recent winter storm brought ice, high winds, heavy snowfall, whiteout conditions and below-freezing temperatures to almost every corner of the state.
While some communities and crews are still recovering from this storm and the full scale of the impacts remains to be seen, ODOT said Friday it has some impressive numbers to share between Jan. 12 and Jan. 19.
Between Jan. 12 and Jan. 19, ODOT crews worked roughly 20,000 hours of overtime, used 6.5 million pounds of salt and 422,000 gallons of de-icer to clear roads of snow, ice and debris
Employees in Region 1, which includes the Portland metro area, portions of the Columbia Gorge and north coast, used 154,860 gallons of liquid de-icer and 2.5 million pounds of salt.
Region 2, which includes the Willamette Valley, the northern half of Oregon’s coast and the Cascade Range, used 113,601 gallons of de-icer and 1.3 million pounds of salt – the most they’d ever used in a single storm.
“Numbers alone can’t capture the impacts of winter weather,” ODOT Director Kris Strickler said. “But they certainly illustrate the expansive efforts of our people working across the state.”