Warm weather a bonus to D-O-T

The state is getting a break so far on a part of its winter budget. Bins are bulging with supplies of salt and sand, ready for treating snowy roads. But D-O-T director of winter operations Dennis Burkheimer says they haven’t had to use much of it.He says the state’s probably saved six or 7 million dollars. Burkheimer says time and equipment that would have gone to sanding roads can be well used on other highway work. Things like shoulder and bridge work, cleaning and repair the workers often don’t have time to do. And of course, the clear dry highways have also saved the state money.They’ve used almost 12-thousand tons of salt statewide, compared to this time last year when we’d used over 100-thousand. Local governments arrange their own supplies of road salt and sand, and have been seeing their own savings.