THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 9, 1996 TAG: 9603090410
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Ice and snow cleanups on North Carolina roads will cost the state at least $41 million, and the meter was still running Friday when more snow fell.
Potholes are the most obvious problem left by this winter's foul weather. They will cost North Carolina taxpayers at least $5 million to repair, and could cost twice that much, a state transportation official said.
``The damage repairs are still coming in,'' said C.A. Gardner, the Department of Transportation's deputy chief engineer for operations. ``We're about half-way through fixing the ones that rattle your teeth.''
More snow fell over the state early Friday, from the mountains east to Raleigh and north to the coastal plain.
School systems in western North Carolina were closed as were some in the Virginia border counties.
The precipitation began as rain Thursday and changed to snow as cold air moved in from the north.
Strong northwesterly winds produced wind chill readings of nearly 25 below zero at Asheville early Friday.
Back-to-back January storms plus other smaller ones have added up to the most expensive snow- and ice-clearing operation in state history, Gardner told the state Board of Transportation on Thursday.
The final bill will be at least three times the state's annual $13 million budget for storm cleanup.
``We operated at a crisis level,'' Gardner said.
The state spent $11 million clearing roads after the Jan. 6 storm and $16 million after the Feb. 2 storm. Smaller storms that caused less damage than January's double whammies added another $5 million in cleanup costs.
In addition to pothole repairs, the state will have to spend another $4 million to $5 million to replace lane reflectors lost or damaged during snow removal. Reflectors are used on 24,000 miles of state highway, Gardner said. Roads in the eastern part of the state lost about a third of the lane reflectors and the western counties lost 80 percent or more, he said.
President Clinton declared about 40 North Carolina counties a federal disaster area after the January storm, and 25 counties got the declaration after the February storm. A few more counties may still be added, Gardner said.
That declaration will allow the state to get about $10 million from the federal government, Gardner said.
The Transportation Department is studying how to pay the repair costs and may use money from next year's budget, he said.
Gardner said the state needs to build more structures to store salt. The existing storage domes that keep salt from seeping into the ground water hold 58,000 tons, but that was not enough.
``The competition for salt was severe. It was in such short supply its price doubled toward the end,'' Gardner said.
The state avoided the high prices by a telephone campaign to find other supplies. by CNB