TDOT details winter‑storm response: 149,000 labor hours, major salt and brine use
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Summary
Commissioner Will Reed told legislators TDOT spent more than 149,000 labor hours on response to a recent historic winter storm, used 106,000 tons of salt, 1.8 million gallons of salt brine and aided local governments on more than 500 incidents; TDOT says supplies are being restocked.
Commissioner Will Reed described Tennessee Department of Transportation’s response to a recent, historically disruptive winter storm, telling the Finance, Ways and Means committee that TDOT deployed significant personnel and material resources across the state.
Reed said TDOT recorded more than 149,000 labor hours, cleared thousands of downed trees, applied 106,000 tons of salt, drove roughly 812,000 miles in response operations, managed about 5,000 incidents and used roughly 1,800,000 gallons of salt brine. He thanked staff who moved between regions to assist neighbors and credited interagency coordination under the governor’s emergency action.
Later in the hearing members asked about supplies and whether TDOT had adequate salt and brine for a future event. Reed said the agency is restocking and that Tennessee’s fiscal posture allowed it to float federal‑funded projects during the recent 43‑day government shutdown; he noted the agency budgeted $31 million for winter weather this year and had spent about $29.09 million to date, and emphasized TDOT would reprioritize maintenance activities as needed to sustain emergency response.
Reed also said TDOT helped local governments access salt during the event and that the department was in contact with suppliers in the Southeast; he told the committee TDOT did not experience supply shortages other jurisdictions had faced. “We were one of the only ones that wasn’t having an issue with that,” Reed said, describing regional coordination.
