Statewide Iowa (RI) — Snow plows, salt spreaders, brine sprayers, and other machinery the Iowa DOT uses to keep our roads clear is being cleaned up and put away.
Winter operations administrator Craig Bargfrede says the winter season officially ends for the DOT on April 15th.
Bargfrede says this just-concluding winter was pretty mild overall, as they’ve created a Winter Severity Index, based on things like storm duration and amount of precipitation, whether it’s snow, sleet, rain, or ice.
A less severe winter means giant stacks of leftover sand and salt, which can be saved for next winter. Bargfrede told members of the Iowa Transportation Commission at the meeting in February he’s looking at a $1 million cut in the winter budget for key materials like sand and salt.
He says any remaining funds are reverted to the construction and project side.
While the winter of 2025-26 wasn’t as severe as in past years, Bargfrede says certain events in the past few months truly do stand out.
Bargfrede says the DOT consulted with the Iowa State Patrol, and it was decided to shut down I-35 preemptively, based on the forecast and before the worst of the storm hit. He says the results were very favorable in the corridor with fewer crashes and fewer stranded vehicles.
KIWA Staff Photo
