Winter Maintenance Report
2023-24 at a glance
This section shows the two-year comparison of several key areas, including weather, materials used, cost and labor. The winter of 2023-24 was below average in most categories.
Two-year comparison
| Category | Measure | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Lane miles | 30,132 miles | 30,309 miles |
| Weather | Snowfall, near MSP Airport (Based on MnDOT Maintenance Decision Support System) |
92.8 inches | 20.8 inches |
| Weather | Snowfall, statewide across districts (Based on MnDOT Maintenance Decision Support System) |
90.2 inches | 23.5 inches |
| Weather | Number of winter events, statewide average | 26.9 events | 13.7 events |
| Materials | Salt used | 260,380 tons | 114,155 tons |
| Materials | Average cost of salt per ton | $86.31 | $94.32 |
| Materials | Salt brine used | 14.1 million gallons | 9.8 million gallons |
| Materials | Sand used | 36,439 tons | 11,058 tons |
| Costs and Performance | Total plowing and materials costs (Based on fiscal year) |
$174 million | $93 million |
| Costs and Performance | Total plowing and materials costs per lane mile, statewide average | $5,793 | $3,068 |
| Costs and Performance | Frequency of achieving bare lane after winter event (70% target) |
84% | 89% |
| Labor and Services | Regular labor hours | 650,234 hours | 357,495 hours |
| Labor and Services (Business Intelligence data) |
Overtime winter labor hours | 203,268 hours | 74,667 hours |
2023-24 average district snowfall
Official weather reporting station snowfall
| Year | Near MSP Airport | Statewide Average |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 20.8 inches | 23.5 inches |
| 2022-23 | 92.8 inches | 90.2 inches |
| 2021-22 | 47.3 inches | 63 inches |
| 2020-21 | 59.2 inches | 53 inches |
| 2019-20 | 68.1 inches | 71.7 inches |
MnDOT uses a Winter Severity Index to simplify the comparison from year to year. Each district uses the same factors to calculate a single relative number. Factors include dewpoint, humidity, wind speed & gusts, precipitation type, frost, road & air temperatures, cloud cover, blowing snow and surface pressure.
Winter Severity Index by district for past five years
| District | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 151 | 101 | 177 | 210 | 99 |
| District 2 | 140 | 91 | 167 | 152 | 85 |
| District 3 | 113 | 86 | 130 | 173 | 64 |
District 4 |
130 | 84 | 152 | 166 | 64 |
| Metro District | 89 | 74 | 101 | 157 | 46 |
| District 6 | 108 | 70 | 94 | 142 | 50 |
| District 7 | 116 | 77 | 75 | 121 | 51 |
| District 8 | 112 | 79 | 90 | 139 | 58 |
| Statewide | 128 | 86 | 138 | 164 | 72 |
Average salt usage by district for past five years
in thousands of tons
| District | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 30.8 | 19.1 | 32.1 | 37.7 | 17 |
| District 2 | 11.8 | 9.8 | 11.6 | 15.1 | 12 |
| District 3 | 30.2 | 22.1 | 29 | 44.8 | 20.3 |
| District 4 | 11.9 | 9.9 | 10.8 | 16.4 | 7.7 |
| Metro District | 55.7 | 51.6 | 61 | 71.3 | 24.5 |
| District 6 | 38.5 | 25.5 | 25.7 | 39.5 | 17.1 |
| District 7 | 18 | 12 | 9.6 | 19.6 | 8.5 |
| District 8 | 13.1 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 15.9 | 7 |
| Statewide | 210 | 159.3 | 189.5 | 260.4 | 114.2 |
Average liquid usage by district for past five years
in thousands of gallons
| District | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 442.5 | 619.2 | 1,022.2 | 1,644.5 | 1,545.6 |
| District 2 | 261.4 | 219.5 | 234.4 | 432.8 | 633.2 |
| District 3 | 1,017.2 | 833.5 | 1,172.2 | 2,470.7 | 1,621.1 |
| District 4 | 1,288.0 | 1,856.0 | 1,897.5 | 2,983.8 | 1,661.4 |
| Metro District | 754.1 | 821.0 | 1,154.6 | 1,997.2 | 1,487.1 |
| District 6 | 937.2 | 839.4 | 935.1 | 1,752.0 | 1,223.5 |
| District 7 | 1,556.7 | 1,171.7 | 1,263.9 | 1,993.8 | 1,010.6 |
| District 8 | 291.6 | 234.0 | 417.7 | 869.5 | 573.5 |
| Statewide | 6,548.6 | 6,594.3 | 8,097.5 | 14,144.4 | 9,756.1 |
Average sand usage by district for past five years
in thousands of tons
| District | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 8.4 | 6.2 | 12.2 | 16.5 | 4.1 |
| District 2 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 4.1 |
| District 3 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.2 |
| District 4 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 0.7 |
| Metro District | 3.4 | 0.7 | 1 | 4.5 | 1 |
| District 6 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| District 7 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
| District 8 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| Statewide | 22.3 | 18.1 | 29.1 | 36.4 | 11.1 |
Snow and ice expenditures were about 46.6%, or $81 million, less than the previous winter. A total of $93 million was spent on materials, labor and equipment.
Total spent for snow and ice control compared to winter severity
includes materials, labor and equipment
| Year | Cost | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $93,000,000 | 72 |
| 2022-23 | $174,000,000 | 164 |
| 2021-22 | $148,000,000 | 138 |
| 2020-21 | $116,000,000 | 86 |
| 2019-20 | $127,000,000 | 128 |
Historical snow and ice expenditures trend
| District | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | Five-year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | $16,440,000 | $12,948,000 | $20,545,000 | $22,053,000 | $13,890,000 | $17,015,000 |
| District 2 | $10,004,000 | $7,525,000 | $13,252,000 | $13,343,000 | $9,159,000 | $10,657,000 |
| District 3 | $15,280,000 | $13,683,000 | $18,904,000 | $23,380,000 | $12,618,000 | $16,773,000 |
| District 4 | $12,777,000 | $10,974,000 | $16,478,000 | $19,127,000 | $9,993,000 | $13,870,000 |
| Metro District | $29,823,000 | $32,544,000 | $42,120,000 | $44,377,000 | $19,086,000 | $33,590,000 |
| District 6 | $17,585,000 | $14,850,000 | $14,155,000 | $20,198,000 | $11,096,000 | $15,577,000 |
| District 7 | $13,483,000 | $11,356,000 | $10,953,000 | $14,760,000 | $8,487,000 | $11,808,000 |
| District 8 | $9,181,000 | $7,755,000 | $8,575,000 | $13,342,000 | $5,985,000 | $8,968,000 |
| Other | $2,487,000 | $4,281,000 | $2,835,000 | $3,373,000 | $3,489,000 | $3,293,000 |
| Statewide | $127,064,000 | $115,858,000 | $147,816,000 | $173,953,000 | $93,003,000 | $131,550,000 |
Salt costs - based on fiscal year
Average per ton
| Year | Cost |
|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $94.32 |
| 2022-23 | $86.31 |
| 2021-22 | $77.87 |
| 2020-21 | $75.45 |
| 2019-20 | $86.43 |
MnDOT met its overall performance target for the 2023-24 winter season. MnDOT has met or exceeded the 70% target the past 10 years. MnDOT worked to reduce road salt use on roadways and invested in updates to our systems and technologies. Bare lane regain time is measured from the time a winter event ends to when MnDOT’s snow and ice operations regain bare lane driving conditions. The target for this measure varies by road classification, ranging from 0 to 3 hours for the state’s most heavily traveled roadways to 9 to 36 hours for the least traveled secondary roads.
Frequency of meeting bare lane targets
Cost in millions from Business Intelligence