DeWine Sends ODOT to Support Snow Removal Efforts in New York

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Department of Transportation crews and equipment are heading to the state of New York to assist with emergency snow removal efforts after the deadly Christmas weekend blizzard.

A convoy of 28 ODOT workers, 12 tandem dump trucks, two utility mechanic trucks and four crew cab pickup trucks departed from Ashtabula this morning for a six-day deployment, Gov. Mike DeWine announced. Crews will work two 12-hour shifts and return to Ohio on Tuesday.

The ODOT team includes highway technicians, mechanics and managers from District 4 (Akron), District 11 (New Philadelphia) and District 12 (Cleveland).

“ODOT snowplow drivers and mechanics have been remarkable during this Christmas winter storm,” DeWine said. “We are happy to help our neighbors in New York state and know that they would do the same for us in Ohio if the situation was reversed.”

More than three dozen deaths have been reported in western New York from the blizzard that hit much of the country last week, the Associated Press reported. Roads reopened today in Buffalo as rescue efforts continue.

With a statewide fleet of nearly 1,600 plows, ODOT will have enough plows and drivers for winter operations in Ohio should the need for snow removal arise during the deployment, a news release from DeWine’s office states.

The New York Emergency Management Agency made the request Tuesday for personnel and equipment to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a national mutual aid system that allows states to legally share resources from state to state during declared disasters and emergencies.

Pictured at top: Ohio Department of Transportation trucks leave for New York. (Office of Gov. Mike DeWine)

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.