Road crews are another COVID casualty

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 10/26/2020, 12:59 p.m.
Snow fell on a quiet Kansas City metro early Monday morning, and there were fewer crews out on the roads …
There were fewer crews out on the roads to combat the winter weather due to budget cuts. Credit: KCTV KSMO

By Savannah Rudicel, Shain Bergan

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV KSMO) -- Snow fell on a quiet Kansas City metro early Monday morning, and there were fewer crews out on the roads to combat the winter weather.

Like many industries, winter road crews have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and you may see fewer crews plowing roads or patching potholes this winter. A spokesperson for Kansas City told KCTV5 News that they have had to make some budget cuts impacting its number of maintenance positions.

The city's budget is still awaiting approval, so it's not final how much those budget cuts will affect snow removal and pothole patching. City leaders said they still have crews in all areas of the city and are ready for winter weather events like this morning.

What it comes down to is that the cuts "impact the number of boots on the ground, but we still have designated pothole crews in all three maintenance zones in the city that will be patching through the season and plowing snow," the spokesperson said.

The Kansas Department of Transportation, on the other hand, has been adding more people, including hiring more equipment operators. KDOT told KCTV5 News that they want to build up the staff now and get the new hirees trained quickly in order to be ready before the heavier snow comes this winter.

View Our E-Editon