The snow storm and sub-freezing temperatures that hit the South Willamette Valley this month cost the City of Eugene about $125-thousand. Public Works is still cleaning up from the event.
Crews were on the job 24 / 7 for 7 days according to Eugene Public Works spokesman Eric Jones. Weather forecasters didn't predict the 8 inches of snow that fell in Eugene Friday December 6th, followed by temperatures that plummeted as low at minus 10. Many streets were covered in ice for a full week. Jones says the costs added up fast.
Jones: "We put out almost a thousand cubic yards of gravel, nearly 66-hundred gallons of magnesium chloride which is the liquid de-icer we use. And then of course, we have the overtime with crews working round-the-clock, 12-hour shifts."
Jones says the city budgeted about $100 thousand for a weather event. The cost so far for this storm is $125 thousand. Jones calls it a wash, but it's still early in the season. His fingers are crossed that there won't be another storm on the same scale this winter.
