LEWISTON — A combination of slow-moving storms and holiday timing made the first storm of the year especially expensive for Twin Cities road crews.

“The storm came over a holiday weekend, and it just kept coming,” Lewiston Public Works Director Paul Boudreau said. “That meant more overtime and more crews on the road. We had to stay on the road because the snow just kept falling.”

The weekend storm cost Lewiston about $108,000 in overtime and supplies, including fuel, road sand, salt and ice-melting calcium chloride. That’s about one-third of the city’s snowplowing budget for fiscal year 2009-10.

“We usually plan on about $20,000 to $25,000 per storm,” Boudreau said. “The problem we had with this storm was just the duration.”

In Auburn, Public Works Director Bob Belz said the storm cost the city $61,360, about double the cost of a normal storm.

It should take Twin Cities road crews another week to finish clearing snow from roads and sidewalks.

“We’re not having to take any big, heroic efforts to get things cleaned up,” Belz said. “It’s about as much work as you would expect out of a big storm.”

The storm dumped an estimated 15 inches on the Twin Cities over New Year’s weekend, from Friday through Sunday. With no significant storms expected in the next few days, Public Works is using the break to clear as much snow and ice as possible.

“Now, we’re clearing stacking space, making room for another storm when it comes,” Boudreau said. Lewiston crews will continue working in two shifts into next week, he said. 

“It’s so early in the year, we need to get as far ahead as possible,” he said. “If we get another 10 to 12 inches, we’ll be right back where we started.”

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