Some Whatcom roads might not get plowed right away this winter. Here’s why
For the second winter in a row, some rural Whatcom County residents might be waiting longer to see a snowplow because of an ongoing shortage of drivers and other workers who help with de-icing, sanding and other tasks, state and county officials said.
Snow is a key concern this season because of a continuing La Niña weather pattern, which often means a cold, wet winter for the Northwest, along with a greater chance of lowland snow.
Bellingham has enough crews to handle the challenge when temperatures fall toward freezing and the forecast calls for snow, said Todd Baker, who is Street Division supervisor for the Bellingham Department of Public Works.
“While we’ve lost staff over the past few years to retirement and job changes, we’ve hired two dozen new staff who we’re training now in a variety of essential tasks including deicing, sanding and plowing,” Baker told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
But staffing remains an issue for the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Whatcom County Department of Public Works, officials at those agencies said recently.
“As winter 2022-2023 approaches, Whatcom County Public Works is facing significant staffing shortages for weather response operations — specifically, a shortage of employees who are licensed, qualified, and experienced in operating snow plows,” according to a statement at the Public Works Department website.
Normally, the county would have 54 drivers for winter emergency operations, but only 40 are available for this season.
Operating heavy machinery like a snowplow requires a commercial driver’s license and additional training that takes an average of six months, the statement said.
Government agencies have had a tough time competing with the construction industry for drivers and equipment operators.
Trouble hiring, along with retirements and limited training opportunities because of the pandemic, is a major reason for the shortage, the statement said.
“As a result of these staffing shortages, we are asking residents to prepare and make contingencies in case we are unable to provide snow plowing at the same service levels as in previous years. A lack of operators means there will be fewer plows and other equipment on the roads during extended snow storms. It will likely take longer for crews to get to secondary roads,” the statement said.
WSDOT is seeing similar challenges to a certain extent, said RB McKeon, a spokesperson for the Northwest Region.
“We don’t just hire for plow drivers as some may think. Our maintenance employees who are hired both as permanent and non-permanent employees do a variety of tasks like guardrail and pothole repairs, snow and ice response, storm drain clearing, sign repair, and litter and graffiti removal,” McKeon told The Herald in an email.
“Particular hiring challenges and concerns — which were present last winter as well — are for workers with commercial driver’s licenses as well as the mechanics who keep trucks, plows and other equipment working,” she said.
“We continue to actively recruit to fill remaining positions. This is a national shortage, not just a Washington state one,” McKeon said.
About 100 positions are open in winter operations, she said.
Among the jobs that WSDOT is seeking to fill are for seasonal snowplow drivers to clear the Mount Baker Highway from the mountain village of Glacier to the Mt. Baker Ski Area.
Crews there work four 10-hour days starting at 4 a.m. and live at a WSDOT facility east of Glacier while they’re on duty, according to an online employment posting.
Even so, a staffing shortage doesn’t necessarily mean less service, McKeon said.
“To help mitigate where we may be short, we will do what we call ‘swarm the storm,’ which means moving available resources to the highest affected or priority routes during area/region-wide storms,” she said.
“In Whatcom County, specifically, the public can expect a similar response to last year, our crews working 24/7 shifts to pre-treat and plow roads as winter storms and winter weather move through the area,” McKeon said.
