DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is one of many agencies in the country dealing with a shortage of plow drivers.
On Tuesday, a storm hit the metro area during the morning commute. CDOT told 9NEWS they had more than 100 plows on the roads during the storm, even while they are short-staffed.
"Just like other industry sectors, we do have a driver shortage, but what’s important is we have a deep bench and we started out with a lot of drivers and so we are using our resources as efficiently as possible," CDOT spokesperson Tamara Rollison said. "We just urge motorists to drive as safely as possible and if they can stay home, that's a good idea too."
Rollison doesn't have an exact number of how many drivers they're short on, but she told 9NEWS with the crews they do have, they're making sure every area they're responsible for is covered.
"What we have done with the driver shortage is if there's areas of the metro area that are under control that may not need any more plowing, if needed, we will deploy those plows to other areas of the metro region to take care of what needs to be taken care of," Rollison said. "Mother Nature is going to do her thing. We all have to respect that."
CDOT is hiring a variety of positions, including some entry-level positions that could pay about $45,000 a year. They're also offering a housing stipend for some locations.
9NEWS reached out to the city of Denver to see if they were dealing with a plow driver shortage, and they said they are "adequately staffed."
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