State and local authorities continue to work on road conditions despite budget concerns and continuing winter precipitation.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation already has spent $9 million this winter removing snow and ice from roads, said David Meuser, ODOT spokesman.

“That covers costs directly associated with the storms over the entire state,” Meuser said.

ODOT spent only $7.7 million last winter on snow and ice removal, he said.

“I would expect that chances are good that we’ll spend even more money than we’ve already spent,” he said.

ODOT has an overall budget of $140 million. The normal cost for keeping roads safe each winter is $7 to 8 million, he said.

“We plan to absorb whatever the snow and ice removal costs into our overall maintenance budget,” Meuser said.

To recoup extra costs, he said, ODOT may have to cut back on services such as litter pick-up or mowing.

“Snow and ice removal is very much considered a safety issue,” he said. “We’re not going to skimp out on snow and ice removal just because we have already spent as much as we did last year.”

ODOT will fix roads during the next few weeks that have been damaged by the storms, Meuser said.

“We don’t know how many potholes we’ll have; but we know low temperatures and precipitation are the enemies of pavement,” he said.

Meuser said ODOT has salt stockpiled for any more possible storms.

“We have already spent a lot of man-hours and money in fighting snow and ice, but we are ready for the next storm as well,” he said.

The Physical Plant is one department at OU that makes the university safe when winter precipitation occurs, said Amanda Hearn, Physical Plant spokeswoman.

“Because the OU-Norman campus has seen more snow this year than those in recent memory our dedicated crew has spent more days responding to the ice and snow on campus than previous years,” she said.

Hearn said though the cost may be high, it is important to keep OU safe and secure during ice or snow storms.

The freeze-thaw cycle, ice, snow and plowing damage roads and create potholes. As the weather permits, the Physical Plant will begin to address those problems, she said.

Clearing roads this winter has been more difficult than in the past, said Shawn O’Leary, Norman director of public works.

“It’s been a rough year as compared with the typical year,” he said.

The city of Norman bases its budget for overtime and purchasing salt and sand on past years. But the city already has overspent the amount budgeted for overtime and is beginning to overspend its budget for salt and sand, O’Leary said.

“It’s definitely challenged our people and our budget and our resources,” he said.