Date:  Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Contact: Al Gilson, Public Information Officer, (509) 324-6015

SPOKANE-With a record snowfall in the Inland Northwest and more to come, crews from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plus area cities and counties have been overwhelmed with snow removal efforts.  

Several state highways were closed on Monday now, as of 2:00 p.m., only SR 231 between I-90 and Reardan remains closed.  A WSDOT snowblower is clearing that section and it should be open later today.  More snow and wind is on the way with a series of weather systems moving into Eastern Washington over the next week or so. 

Western Washington has warmed up and rain is in their forecast.  This warmer weather has freed up some of the snow removal equipment on the west side of the state and several of those units have been sent to the WSDOT Eastern Region to assist with snow plowing efforts. 

Five truck plows equipped with sand/salt spreaders from Tacoma and Aberdeen are now in service on State Highways in the Spokane area.  Those trucks, along with 10 operators, will be running 24 hours a day for the next seven days, teamed up with Spokane-based, WSDOT plows and crews.

“The additional trucks from the west side will allow the WSDOT to move some of our equipment into rural areas,” said Keith Metcalf, WSDOT Eastern Region Administrator. “Some of our plows will now join up with Spokane County crews and the Washington National Guard to open and widen local roadways.” 

The National Weather Service reports that December’s snowfall of 59.7 inches is the heaviest monthly total ever recorded in Spokane.

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