On Jan. 6, Ocean County officials released preliminary costs associated with the snowstorm of Dec. 26.
As of Jan. 5, the cost of salting, plowing and all associated cleanup costs of Ocean County’s 620 miles of roads was $866,000, according to Freeholder James F. Lacey.
Lacey noted that the greatest share of the cost was in the Road Department with $400,000 worth of materials used and $194,000 paid out in overtime.
In addition, costs incurred by Ocean County’s Department of Vehicle Services totaled about $100,000, including about $30,000 for fuel and $33,000 for parts for the more than 113 pieces of equipment on the roads.
Prior to the storm, the county had on hand 24,500 tons of salt and 30,000 gallons of liquid calcium along with 30,000 gallons of brine.
During a major snowstorm Ocean County, at any given time, has roughly 113 pieces of equipment on the roads in addition to the private contractors who are called in to assist with salting and plowing.
The county has about 87 trucks that can be used for salting and plowing and about 30 pieces of equipment that can be used just for plowing. Loaders, skid steers and dozers are also called into action to help fill trucks with salt and for other snow removal work.
“There is about 1,500 lane miles in Ocean County,” Lacey said. “This is the largest county road system in the state.”
Lacey noted that additional storm-related costs were about $22,000 for cleanup performed by the Ocean County Department of Buildings and Grounds, about $16,000 for assistance from the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste Management, about $8,000 for the Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation, and about $24,000 for outside contractors.
“This was a difficult storm to clean up. First there was the snow, which in some areas totaled more than 2 feet, and then the whipping winds that created drifts of snow over 6 feet high in areas,” Lacey said. “I send my appreciation to the county staff— from our road department workers to the switchboard operators who made it here on [Dec. 27]. They all worked diligently to get Ocean County moving again.”