FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — It has been a very mild winter so far, which means our area has not seen much snow this year. That also means the snowplows have not gotten a lot of action this winter either.
The Virginia Department of Transportation's Northern Virginia District has only deployed snow crews six times this year. That's compared to the more than 15 times snowplows were sent out last year.
"It's a lot of good news on multiple levels for potholes. We've avoided the freeze and thaw cycle which causes them," said Ellen Kamilakis, spokeswoman for VDOT's Northern Virginia District.
According to Kamilakis, the rain has been much more of an issue for VDOT.
"We immediately walked into about $10 million in damage from flood and rains, so at this point rain really is the new snow for us," said Kamilakis.
The District has also seen fewer potholes as well because of the mild weather. The District Department of Transportation has received 2,152 requests for pothole repairs between October 2019 and February 2020. During the same period last year, the organization received 7,232 requests.
According to DDOT, the number of requests also dropped because roads are in much better condition. More than 100 miles of roadway was paved last season, which essentially makes a big difference in the need for repairs.
VDOT's 14-county Fredericksburg District has spent an estimated $4 million on snow removal so far. That's out of the $9 million allocated for the 2019-2020 winter season.
In the last three years, the district has spent well over the allocated amount.
As far as potholes are concerned in the Fredericksburg District, VDOT said the rate of patching potholes will be slightly under last year's rate, but not by much.
Although it's been quiet up until this point, Kamilakis joked that it's not over just yet.
"We're a little superstitious so we don't want to jinx anything. We know mother nature does whatever she wants to do," she said.
