Blizzard costs MoDOT $7.7M

Fresh, white snow, it turns out, is laced with green.

The Missouri Department of Transportation  estimates it has spent roughly $7.7 million in cleanup costs following the state's early February snowstorm. The figure includes labor, equipment and materials, according to a news release.

Snowfall amounts ranged from 20 to 24 inches in portions of Missouri, with winds of up to 40 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 2,500 employees and 1,600 pieces of equipment were used to clear Missouri's 33,000-mile highway system. Snowplow trucks logged approximately 1.1 million miles, the release said.

Additionally, MoDOT estimates workers logged more than 90,000 hours in the after-snow cleanup, using more than 30,000 tons of salt and other abrasive materials on state roads and bridges.

At the request of Gov. Jay Nixon, MoDOT maintenance crews also helped to open approximately 1,200 miles of county roadways in 16 counties.

MoDOT still has enough supplies on hand to make it through the remainder of the winter, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]