How's Amherst Looking After That Big Nor'Easter?

Another snowstorm could bring up to a foot of snow this weekend, and towns across New Hampshire are preparing for more cleanup.

The big Nor’easter two weeks ago hit Amherst hard as crews worked tirelessly to clean the roads. Amherst DPW director Bruce Berry estimates that the storm cost $52,995 total including straight time and overtime wages, materials (salt and sand) and contracted equipment.

This giant snowstorm took multiple days to blow through and fell on a weekend, which he said is more expensive to deal with due to overtime costs. The weather has been pretty tame since then, but any amount of snow requires plowing or sand/salt that isn’t cheap, said Berry. 

Amherst’s highway budget is $2,584,417 and spans across 12-month budget cycle. (July-June). So far, about two-thirds of the overtime line has been spent, which is an important factor for winter maintenance when a storm rolls through.

The “on call as needed” part-time labor line, which are the people hired to drive town equipment for winter maintenance, is getting close to being maxed out, according to Berry. The “outside hire” line, which covers five hired pieces of equipment is “holding its own.”

All public works equipment, with the exception of the grader and backhoe, is dedicated to storm maintenance. Berry said that a deteriorating fleet of vehicles and equipment maintenance will be problematic before the budget cycle is over.

“The last few storms have been challenging because of equipment breakdowns (both town and hired equipment). You can’t replace a thirteen-year-old ten wheeler (with sander) with a one ton (with sander) and deliver the same service.”

On the bright side, the town has enough sand and a full salt shed with only two-thirds of the salt line spent.

Berry said that his department should be ready for a few more snow storms before the season ends in about a month. However, he has seen a concerning trend of more violent and damaging storms that will be pricier to deal with if it continues.