ATLANTA — This year's mild winter has saved the state hundreds of thousands of dollars that might have been spent removing snow and ice.
Last year, the state spent more than $5 million battling winter weather. The 2011 snow storm shut down metro Atlanta for about a week, so the Georgia Department of Transportation invested $2.5 million in new equipment and 11 additional salt and stone storage depots for northeast Georgia.
"We have made a lot of changes from last year to this year and it has been a very different year," GDOT's Terry Pope told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.
This year, GDOT has spent $48,000 for equipment in northeast Georgia.
"This year, we only used 20 tons of salt for the whole season. Last year, we used almost 6,000 tons of salt," Pope said.
The remaining tons are stockpiled and ready to go when Mother Nature decides to bring another harsh winter weather back. GDOT officials said they consider the winter season to last through Easter.
The state estimates it will spend about $75,000 battling winter weather this year. State officials said they believe last year's more than $5 million was a record high.
GDOT said it will spend the remaining funds on road construction projects, like one that will affect traffic this weekend on Highway 166 in Sandy Springs. GDOT said it will repair guard rails, resurface roads and patch shoulders.