HELENA, Mont. – More US drivers could get stuck on snowy freeways or their travel delayed this winter due to a shortage of snowplow drivers – a reality that comes home as Atticus, the first-mentioned storm this winter. pours snow from Intermountain West to the Upper Great Lakes.

States from Washington to Pennsylvania, including Montana and Wyoming in the Rocky Mountains, are struggling to find enough people willing to take on the comparatively low-paying jobs that require a commercial driver’s license and often work in dangerous conditions at odd hours.

“We want the traveling public to understand why it can take longer this season to clear freeways during winter storms,” ​​said Jon Swartz, the Montana Department of Transportation’s maintenance administrator, who is about 90 drivers short. “Knowing this helps drivers plan ahead and adjust travel plans or even delay them.”

The labor shortage and ongoing pandemic concerns have pushed employers to find enough School bus driver, Waiter, cooks and even teachers. The shortcoming comes from the fact that the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level in 52 years last week, and some one better work-life balance.

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Several states are either already feeling the crisis or may soon be: A snowstorm hit northern Utah on Thursday night, while heavy snowfall was forecast for higher elevations in Colorado on Friday. About a half a foot (15 centimeters) could sink in parts of Nebraska and Iowa. parts of Nevada and New Mexico also expect winter storms. A severe storm is expected to hit Northern California starting Sunday, bringing the first significant rainfall to the drought-dried area this month.

According to the state transport authorities, there are several reasons for the shortage of snow plow drivers: the record-low unemployment rate, an aging workforce and increased demand for diesel mechanics and CDL drivers in other industries. Private companies can also be more nimble – raising salaries and offering bonuses to drivers – than government agencies, which usually have to get legislative approval to change salaries.

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“Anyone competing for the same group of workers and private companies can often offer higher salaries than the state government,” said Barbara LaBoe, spokeswoman for the Washington state Department of Transportation.

Along with the competitive market, LaBoe said Washington also lost 151 winter maintenance workers who refused to meet the state COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

One of the main competitors for states seeking workers with a commercial driver’s license are private haulage companies, some of which have raised driver salaries several times this year to meet their own bottlenecks and to meet the growing demand for transportation and clear supply chain bottlenecks.

The American Trucking Associations estimates there will be a record shortage of just over 80,000 drivers this year, not counting the shortage of drivers for school buses, public transportation, or snow plows.

According to ATA, the shortage has many causes including many drivers nearing retirement age, the pandemic has resulted in some leaving the industry and training schools producing fewer new drivers in 2020. Others may be leaving the industry reluctant to be away from home while an increase in the number of states legalizing marijuana means more drivers fail a drug test, the ATA says.

Some states are ready to hire snowplow drivers and pay for their CDL training, but these workers are unlikely to be ready to go this winter, officials said.

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Some snow plow drivers work highway maintenance year-round, while seasonal workers are hired to fill the extra shifts in winter.

The shortage is causing states to make plans to move mechanics and other full-time workers with commercial licenses to plows, which can create problems when a plow needs servicing and the mechanic is on the road.

Wyoming prioritizes which streets are plowed first and how many hours per day each lane is plowed. Interstate 80, the main east-west corridor through the southern portion of the state, can be plowed around the clock, while other roads, such as Interstates 90 and 25, plow stops between midnight and 4 a.m., it said Luke Reiner, director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

In Washington, LaBoe said some roads and mountain passes will be closed for longer than usual during and after significant storms, and some roads may not receive the same level of service.

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Brief or isolated storms won’t be a problem in most states, in part because departments can move drivers and equipment based on the weather forecast.

“When we have a series of storms over several days, or when they hit the entire state at once, (the shortage) becomes more apparent because we don’t bank as deeply,” LaBoe said.

Washington is still short of around 150 seasonal and full-time workers, but things have improved since October when 300 workers were scarce.

Even though states can hire drivers with commercial licenses, they must still train them to drive a snowplow and load the truck with salt and sand before learning a route.

“When you’re plowing the road, you need to know where the bridge abutment and expansion joints are so you don’t hook that up with a plow,” LaBoe said.

Pennsylvania is running out of 270 permanent jobs and 560 temporary jobs, but the Department of Transportation said that doesn’t mean the roads will be treacherous this winter.

“Our goal is to keep the roads safe and drivable, and not completely free of ice and snow,” said Alexis Campbell, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The streets will be cleared as soon as the snow stops, she said.

Travel friendliness is important to businesses. Capitol Courier has contracts to ship electronic parts from its warehouse in Helena, Montana to approximately 30 companies across the state as soon as they call.

“The streets are critical to what we do,” said Shawn White Wolf, co-manager of Capitol Courier.

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Snow plow drivers are dedicated to their jobs knowing that their job is vital to the safety of the traveling public and emergency responders, said Rick Nelson, director of technical services program for winter maintenance for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Still, he understands that convincing newcomers “to be out there in the worst of conditions” can be difficult.

Nelson said the shortage means states will move resources if they can, making sure the streets are clear during times of peak demand as “They try to recruit, go out and beat the bushes and the people away convince that you jump into a plow in the middle of the year “the night at Christmas time is a good career choice.”