State transportation department wants a private snowplow operator to assist in Southcentral Alaska

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities wants to hire a private snowplow operator to help clear roads and sidewalks this winter in Anchorage, Mat-Su and the Kenai Peninsula.

The past two winters in Southcentral Alaska have been marked by heavy, and record, snowfalls. Many roadways went unplowed for days in Anchorage last November and December, closing schools and wreaking havoc on families and local businesses. State officials say they’re better prepared now for extreme snowfalls.

Last winter, the state transportation department used a private contractor for the first time to help clear roads and sidewalks in Anchorage. This year, the department wants to extend that as-needed private snowplow service across Southcentral Alaska.

Justin Shelby, administrative operations manager for the department’s central region, said last year’s contract was awarded to SmithSons, a family-owned snowplow operator based out of Anchorage. He said SmithSons was called out seven times to assist in snow removal at a cost to the state of nearly $94,000.

“It was definitely a help,” Shelby said.

The state transportation department has used private snowplow contractors in other parts of Alaska, he said. A private operator for Southcentral Alaska would help the department avoid calling on emergency contractors during heavy and unexpected snowfalls, he said.

“Ideally, our state crews are going to be able to get to all this, and we don’t need to activate these contracts, but in the event that we have a large snowfall, equipment breakdowns, staff shortages, we want to have that. We want to have that capability to call our contractor,” Shelby said.

An invitation to bid on the state’s pending snowplow contract was issued Aug. 2. A contract is set to be awarded Sept. 10 that would run through May. There is the option to renew the contract for four additional one-year terms.

Anchorage is divided into a mishmash of roads that are maintained separately, some by the state and others by the Municipality of Anchorage. Around half of the city’s roadways are the responsibility of the state to clear.

Shelby said the state’s snowplow fleet is generally equipped for high-speed roads like highways. The contractor would largely assist in snow removal on priority three and four roads — a designation used for roadways that are less-traveled and narrower than highways, he added.

The contractor would be expected to clear roads to a relatively passable condition within 24 hours, according to the state’s invitation to bid.

The 89-page document describes which roads and sidewalks the contractor could be called to plow, including stretches of Huffman Road and parts of Eagle River Road. The document does not list a price for the contract. Instead, it states that it would be “contingent upon legislative appropriation.”

The Legislature approved an operating budget in May that contained a line item for $915,500 “for statewide contracted snow removal.” Shelby said he anticipates that around $500,000 of that appropriation would be used for the new Southcentral snowplow contract.

This year, legislators also appropriated an additional $1.3 million to recruit more snowplow drivers in Southcentral Alaska and $250,000 for a new snow storage site. Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed both appropriations. A statement posted online explaining the veto said it was needed to “preserve general funds for savings and fiscal stability.”

Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said the additional snowplow funding approved by the Legislature was not requested by Dunleavy or the state transportation department.

“Allocating these funds to only one geographic region would have created an arbitrary inequity among crews,” Turner said.

The department has “a comprehensive plan to enhance snow event response,” with a statewide pay increase for all operators, he added.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who pushed for that additional funding, was disappointed by the veto. He said Tuesday that he had not heard about the state’s pending contract. He was skeptical about the benefits of hiring a private operator.

“You’ve got to factor in the profit that they’re going to make, and it’s usually not a cost savings to the taxpayers,” he said.

Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, questioned how much it would cost per mile for a private contractor to plow a road compared to the state’s snowplow fleet.

Shelby said a relative cost-per-mile calculation “would take us quite a bit of time and effort to put together. But to be clear, this is to address responsiveness, not capacity.”

“Increasing staffing and equipment doesn’t eliminate the likely possibility of another major snow event, staffing shortages, equipment breakdowns, etc. impacting our operations in the short term. This contract gives us the ability to respond quickly by calling on contractors for support,” he said.

Last winter, state transportation officials partly blamed delays in clearing Anchorage roads on a 70% vacancy rate for mechanics who service the state’s snowplow fleet. The current vacancy rate for those mechanics in Anchorage is 22%, state officials said.

Overall, Shelby said the state transportation department is better prepared for heavy snowfalls this winter compared to last year.

“More equipment is operational and ready for the beginning of winter than last year — and generally, all equipment is in better readiness condition than last year, due to better preparedness and lower vacancy rates, and staff with the experience of the extreme events we had last year,” he said by email.