The Virginia Department of Transportation can’t hire enough independent contractors to remove snow from state roads and interstate highways, especially in emergency conditions, according to a new report by the Office of the State Inspector General.
In a report released Tuesday, the inspector general found that many contractors are unwilling to work for the department because of requirements that they carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees and equip snow-removal trucks with “automatic vehicle locator” technology so the public and supervisors can track them.
“A sufficient number of contractors is not available to complete snow plans,” the inspector general said, noting shortages to respond to Level 4 and Level 5 emergencies at five of the six VDOT area headquarters reviewed in the audit.
The affected headquarters included one near Fredericksburg at the center of a snowstorm in early January that crippled traffic on about 50 miles of Interstate 95 from Doswell in Hanover County to Dumfries in Prince William County for more than two days.
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The inspector general’s office is preparing to release a second report as early as this week on the state response to the January snowstorm, which was analyzed in March in an after-action report by CNA Institute for Public Research, based in Arlington County.
A snow plow pushes snow to the side of northbound Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County on Jan. 4. Hundreds of motorists were stranded after a winter storm snarled traffic in Virginia. It left some drivers stuck in place for nearly 24 hours in freezing temperatures along an impassable stretch.
The CNA report said that five Virginia highway districts, including the one in Fredericksburg, mobilized their snow response teams to Level 4 status on the first day of the incident. It said that all VDOT districts reported that they had staff and equipment for “their designated mobilization levels with no gaps, having both VDOT-owned vehicles and contracted snowplows and wreckers, and were ready to implement snowplow operations.”
The inspector general’s report did not address equipment and staffing levels during the January snowstorm, but it “noted shortages” for responding to Level 4 and Level 5 mobilization at five of the six VDOT area headquarters the study reviewed. One of the headquarters found deficient was for the Chancellor area west of Fredericksburg, which includes the portion of I-95 hit hardest by the snowstorm.
The report warns, “Without sufficient resources at mobilization levels 4 and 5, major snowstorms have the potential to be crippling unless assistance from other parts of the state can fill the gaps. In the event of a major statewide storm, VDOT would not be able to keep up with hiring equipment at costly rates and potentially accepting contractor equipment when that equipment has not been inspected or properly insured.”
Ben Sutphin, audit manager for the snow removal investigation and the pending report on the January incident, declined to address the I-95 incident on Jan. 3-4 until the report is released.
However, Sutphin said the shortage of contractors for snow removal is “a statewide issue that would not exclude Fredericksburg.”
The inspector general had postponed the snow removal study twice, first because there was too little snow during the 2019-2020 season, and second because of limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2020-2021 season.
The audit team visited the Chancellor Area Headquarters near Fredericksburg and two area offices in the Salem District on Jan. 15-16. It then visited the Fredericksburg District’s Gloucester area headquarters on Jan. 21-22 and two area headquarters in Salem District on Jan. 28-29.
VDOT spokesperson Marshall Herman said the department held a statewide preparedness workshop on Tuesday, during which central office and district leaders discussed “placing an additional focus on securing adequate resources for the snow season.”
“Signing up contractors for winter weather is a continuing process,” Herman said. “As with every snow season, VDOT signs up contractors from June to November. VDOT is currently going through the process of soliciting and hiring contractors for the 2022/2023 winter season.”
Herman said contractor concerns about worker’s compensation and automatic vehicle locator requirements “are areas VDOT is paying close attention to and working with [the inspector general] to address.”
“VDOT is evaluating ways to mitigate impacts to contractors including potentially offsetting expenses and adjusting contract requirements,” she said.
Sutphin said the inspector general’s office plans a “brainstorming session” with VDOT maintenance officials soon to find what the report calls “a balance between having sufficient resources and working with acceptable areas of risk.”
The report suggests that the department could use state employees from other agencies who have commercial driver’s licenses, or train other VDOT staff to operate equipment for snow removal.
But finding that balance could affect safety, as the inspector general’s other findings suggest.
In addition to the shortage of snow removal contractors, the audit found that there is no way to determine if contractor vehicles that have been inspected for safety are the same ones used during snowstorms. One way to do so would be to use “automatic vehicle locator” systems “to verify equipment is the same as inspected, then conducting physical checks on a random basis to supplement the electronic verification.”
“It’s a safety thing,” Sutphin said. “It’s also a business practice.”
“We contract for specific types of equipment in specific conditions to do the work,” he said. “If they substitute a piece of equipment, it may have different characteristics. It may not have been safety checked by VDOT.”
The report poses a quandary for lawmakers who oversee the transportation department.
Senate Transportation Chairman Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, called the shortage of snow removal contractors “significant,” and questioned whether the number of snow events in Virginia is enough to justify the expense for contractors to equip their trucks with automatic vehicle locators.
“It might not be worth their while,” Marsden said Tuesday. “This just isn’t as big a part of their business as it used to be.”
He said he may proposed the issue as a topic for the next joint meeting of the Senate and House transportation committees later this year, as the state struggles to manage liability risks appropriately without losing contractors for an essential service.
“Doing the right thing sometimes is counter to your best interest,” Marsden said.
From the Archives: The construction of the Richmond Convention Center
02-24-1980 (cutline): ‘Bulldozer Sale’ at A&N Store on Broad Street was brought on by preparations for Project I.
04-14-1982: Demolition process begins to prepare for construction of convention center.
In April 1982, preparations for construction of the Richmond Convention Center were underway along East Broad Street downtown. Among businesses that were torn down to accommodate the new facility were Swatty’s Men’s Shop and the Greyhound bus station.
04-13-1982 (cutline): Project I hotel site is cleared.
11-07-1982 (cutline): Start of construction on the Marriott hotel is one of the events that has occurred this year in the area surveyed.
02-18-1981: Mayor Marsh operates back hoe at ceremonies for construction of the Richmond convention center complex.
02-18-1981 (cutline): Mayor Marsh at the podium discussing developments for new convention center development.
10-18-1977: Richmond City Council views a model of the convention center.
10-19-1982 (cutline): Officials watch as an explosive is detonated to mark the start of construction of a $38 million hotel and convention center planned by Marriott Corp. at Sixth and Broad Streets in Richmond. The ceremony, which featured a luncheon under a special tent, was held today on the site of Project I.
10-19-1982: Ground breaking ceremony at Richmond Convention Center for Marriott.
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