The Connecticut Department of Transportation says there are more than 600 job openings within the department, and as winter approaches, those labor shortages are expected to impact snow removal response times.
“You’ll hear us say it throughout this winter, please be patient, please give us time to clear the roads,” said Josh Morgan of the state DOT. “We are short-staffed, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to be out there with our crews supplemented with contractors as needed.”
This is a problem that states throughout the country are working to manage.
“For some of these larger storms, they may take us a little longer than it has in years past, but we’re going to be staffed up, and we’re going to be out there to take on whatever mother nature throws at us,” Morgan said.
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The DOT says there’s been a plow shortage for a couple years now - right around the time Newington’s Jim Lafond moved into his new home.
“I never had a property before so I was like, ‘Alright, let’s try to find somebody to take care of it,’ because I didn’t know how,” said Lafond, owner and operator of Lawn Services of Newington.
But when no one showed up to plow his driveway, Lafond took matters into his own hands.
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“I said, 'OK,' I bought the equipment myself, and did it myself and I really enjoyed it,” he said.
Out of the shortage came his new business, and with fewer plow drivers, demand for private companies has only spiked.
“I get calls every day from Glastonbury, Manchester, Avon, Farmington,” Lafond said.
As for the state, the need for private plow drivers is one of several factors that has made hiring even more challenging.
“We’re recruiting against 49 other states, we’re recruiting against thousands of municipalities around the country that need to hire these drivers, and we’re recruiting against private industry,” Morgan said.
Lafond said that this winter, his costs will have to reflect the higher fuel prices. From the DOT’s perspective, any increase will likely be absorbed by the state and its residents.
For up-to-date travel information, Morgan encouraged people to go to the state’s website, ctroads.org.
