Delaware State News

DOVER — Gov. Jack A. Markell on Thursday asked President Barack Obama to declare that a disaster occurred in Delaware during the twin February snowstorms, paving the way for state and local governments and other agencies to be reimbursed by the federal government for storm-related costs.

During the storm, Markell spoke with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who agreed that the storms should be treated as one emergency event.

A preliminary tally of costs to state and local governments for the February storms found at least $8.8 million in costs, with $6.7 million for snow removal alone. That amount meets the Federal Emergency Management Agency standards for public disaster assistance of $3.8 million in costs split among the state and counties for a statewide declaration.

If granted, the disaster status would make the state and local governments eligible for reimbursements of 75 percent of their documented costs. Schools and some nonprofits that were involved in storm response or sustained damage would also be eligible to apply for reimbursement.

"Delaware’s public servants and many others worked tirelessly to respond to these snow storms of historic proportions, and they did so effectively," Gov. Markell said.

"We did what needed to be done to keep Delawareans safe and get the state back on its feet, regardless of the cost. The federal disaster process may allow us to recoup some of those expenses, and we certainly are pursuing that option during these tough budget times."

Among the details compiled by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and included in Gov. Markell’s application were:

•The official snow total from the National Climatic Data Center for the Feb. 5-6 storm for New Castle County was 25.8 inches, shattering the previous single-event record of 19 inches. Although not record-breaking, Kent County recorded 23.41 inches and Sussex County had 21 inches.

•When combined with the second storm on Feb. 9-10, all three counties received more than 30 inches of snow in less than one week.

• At the peak of the second storm, more than 86,000 electricity customers in the state were without power, and utility crews from out of state were in Delaware during both storms to help restore service.

• Almost 400 members of the Delaware National Guard were activated for storm response and more than 150 Guard vehicles were involved in emergency transportation and rescue missions.

• 120 people spent time in emergency shelters opened in Kent and Sussex counties.

Snow, followed by more (much more) snow, and now, the beginning stages of the great melt-off.

Well, unless you’re a totally out-of touch local hermit, or someone lucky enough to have been living in Hawaii this winter (one of two states in the entire U.S. that did not experience any snowfall these past several weeks — the island does get its share in the high mountain altitudes), you have no doubt suffered enough of the white stuff that piled up high on the ground and roads around us. I don’t have any hard stats on the subject, but I’m sure there’s been a major spike in real-estate inquiries in more temperate climes from disgruntled northern "snow birds."

Fact of the matter is, Delawareans simply aren’t used to the kind of back-to-back blizzard conditions we’ve been hit with recently. Understand that this comes from a transplanted New Englander who spent the better part of her life in a region of the country that’s no stranger to harsh winters ...

But around these parts, so much as the prediction of snow, never mind the first sign of snowflakes, is cause to close schools early (or for them not to open at all — for days on end). Now, what’s that about? And, don’t go blaming DELDOT ...

Even though my street is always one of the last secondary roads to get plowed, with its residents being housebound for as long as four days before finally being "liberated," the state transportation agency’s snow removal personnel had more than their fair share of work cut out for them to make the streets safe for travel.

All in all, I think they did an outstanding job under record-breaking weather conditions. So my hat (and gloves) are off to them.

And, here’s hoping we’re in for an early start to spring!

Maggie MacNeill

Dover

Delaware State News

DOVER — As Delaware Department of Transportation plows begin to make headway clearing the state’s roads after two weeks of historic snowfall, DelDOT accountants are tabulating what the state spent during the two blizzards that dumped about 30 inches on the First State.

"This has been a tremendously expensive storm," Delaware Secretary of Transportation Carolann Wicks told the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee Tuesday.

She estimates the February snow events will cost the state about $8 to $9 million.

"We have spent a lot, and rightly so, to get our state back moving and deal with the safety of our public, but it certainly does come with some very large investments from this agency," Ms. Wicks said.

Included in the $8-9 million estimate are about $3 million in manpower costs, $2 million in material costs and $2.8 million in subdivision snow removal and other contracted services costs.

During the snowstorms, DelDOT deployed more than 450 pieces of equipment and so far has spread about 15,000 tons of salt. Its workers plowed more than 12,000 lane miles statewide.

"All of us have lived through a very difficult two weeks, not the least of which would be our staff at DelDOT. A lot of heart and soul and a lot of dedication and effort have gone into working through this incredible, historic proportion storm," Ms. Wicks said Tuesday, referring to the extra monetary costs her employees paid.

A large portion of her staff worked from 7 a.m. Feb. 5 until 6 p.m. Feb. 12, taking them from their families and their homes. She added that a lot of her employees missed the Super Bowl because they were working clearing roads during the game.

"We didn’t do it alone. We had assistance from other agencies," Ms. Wicks said.

DelDOT employed equipment from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the Delaware National Guard assisted in efforts to guide emergency-service personnel through the deep snow, and even the Department of Correction brought inmates out to aid the Transportation Department’s efforts to make the state safe during the snow emergency.

"Our goal, and it shows up in our performance requirements, is that we provide that our primary roads become clear and passable within 24 hours," Ms. Wicks said, "This does not mean black pavement. There have been many phone calls with people calling in and wondering where we are, why aren’t we there more. We are still working. I want to make that clear."

Ms. Wicks said crews are still clearing roads of hard, packed snow and are working on sight-distance problems caused by large mounds of snow created by the snowplows and drifts.

The $8-9 million estimate for the February snow events will be added to the $4 million cost of the large snowstorm that hit Delmarva in late December.

DelDOT department heads and other players in the snow emergency and recovery plan to meet later this week to review the state’s response and its lessons learned during the last few months.

On Monday, Gov. Jack A. Markell announced that he has started the process for federal assistance to make up some of the costs created by the storms. The true impact on the state’s pocketbook won’t be known until that decision has been made.

Drivers log extra hours after huge storms

Delaware State News

DOWNSTATE — The Delaware Department of Transportation took advantage of the sunny weather and temperatures above freezing Friday to clear roads of snow and ice remaining from two recent blizzards that blanketed the state with about 30 inches of snow.

"We are in the third quarter," said DelDOT spokesman James Westhoff. "We are working on the back roads, trying to bust through some of these drifts and that hard crunchy ice that has formed on some of the back roads. We are trying to get as much done today as absolutely possible."

On roads covered with hard-packed ice, crews are salting those areas then coming back a few hours later to plow away the slush.

"Because people have been driving on it, it’s a thick layer of hard-packed snow," Mr. Westhoff said. "Just putting the blade down just doesn’t help much. There are some areas that have drifts six feet high.At those places we are bringing in bulldozers and snow blowers to try to open those roads."

For the cleanup process, DelDOT dispatched 500 employees with 460 pieces of equipment, and Mr. Westhoff forecasts a lot more work through the weekend.

"It’s going to go very quickly," he said. "I think that people will be pleasantly surprised. People are going to see a lot of DelDOT trucks out and about. They are going to see them down those back roads. They will see an improvement on their roads."

Though confident DelDOT workers will work quickly, Mr. Westhoff is asking residents to remain patient.

"We understand that it is challenging for you," he said. "We also understand that your road might look really bad. There are roads out there that are completely impassable — there are people stuck in their homes. We are going to have to leave your road looking awful but at least you can get in and out.

"After everyone’s roads are at least passable, then we will go back and clean up the messy roads," he said.

The hierarchy of roads to be plowed is based on traffic.

"The roads with the least amount of traffic are the lowest on the priority list," Mr. Westhoff said, "The ones on the top are common-sense, four-lane highways, interstates. Our priority is to get it so everybody can get out of their homes."

In the cleanup effort, DelDOT has enlisted the help from a group of people called "snow volunteers."

"These are people that only push snow during a snow emergency," Mr. Westhoff said. "These are not only DelDOT workers, but we have accountants driving plows. These are not only DelDOT employees, but we have civilians who are trained and licensed, and we call them up and put them to work when it is this bad out."

The snow volunteers are recruited through employment ads and job postings. They apply and, once they are accepted, are trained to use the department’s equipment properly. To be a snow volunteer, the applicant must be able to possess a commercial driver’s license, he added.

"They get paid well and it works out for everybody," Mr. Westhoff said.

Most of DelDOT’s workers have been on the clock for nearly a week.

"Essentially they worked from Friday to Thursday night," Mr. Westoff said. "(Thursday) night we had to cut back on staff significantly. The only people that were in were responding to emergencies, like plowing the way for ambulances or electric companies. At some point it is an issue of safety for them and the public. Our people are the most important asset we have. You wouldn’t want to harm that asset."

The choice to send workers home is a hard one — administrators have to weigh the condition of their staff and the condition of the roads.

"It is a difficult decision to send someone (or) send a crew home when you know that there are some people still out there still snowed in," Mr. Westhoff said.

"I haven’t been home since Friday — if I get to go home today, I will have worked seven days," Tom Hess, DelDOT equipment operator, said from his plow truck.

"I’ve been on a couple of different roads. My main road is [U.S.] Route 13. I run up and down 13 because it’s a main road. But now I am going out to White Oak Road to try and open it up a little better," Mr. Hess said.

Mr. Hess has been working nearly 12-hour shifts since Feb. 5. He said he took his conversion van, equipped with a bed in back, to work last week so that he would have a place to rest. He works out of the DelDOT yard in Cheswold. The crew there took a collection last week and purchased about $200 worth of lunch meat and cheese, and the yard provided meals like chicken and dumplings and beef stew for the drivers.

"It’s been kind of rough," Mr. Hess said, "You get to sleep every once in a while but it’s not like being home in your own bed."

Coffee helps Mr. Hess, a Smyrna resident and father of four children, get through the long days away from his family.

"I am anxious to get home and see my kids, and they are anxious to see me," he said.

Mr. Hess’ children range from 16 to 2 years old. He hasn’t been able to see them this week but he has talked to them while on duty.

"They think I have the inside scoop on school closings," he said. "They call and say, 'Have you heard anything about schools?'"

Mr. Hess asks that folks be patient with the snow-removal effort and asks drivers to stay home if they can and be cautious around the DelDOT trucks.

"The biggest challenge we have out here is the people in their cars, " Mr. Hess said. "We are not out here to inconvenience them. We are out here to get a job done. It’s like some people think we are out there to mess up their day. That is not the case at all."

DelDOT coordinated its efforts with the Delaware National Guard and local law enforcement and fire and ambulance agencies.

"Everyone that requested to go to a shelter was taken to a shelter. If anyone that was having an emergency called to get rescued, they were rescued," Mr. Westhoff said.

DelDOT officials say anyone worrying about the state running out of salt or money shouldn’t.

"We constantly replenish our (salt) supplies throughout the winter," Mr. Westhoff said. "As great planning would have it, we received our last shipment (Feb. 5). So we were completely full with 50,000 tons.

"The mid-December storm we used 5,000 tons — this storm will be well north of that but we are nowhere near our capacity."

One ton of salt costs $70.

Though the state is sure of its salt tally, it hasn’t had time to tally the monetary cost of the storms because the cleanup process in ongoing.

The storm that blanketed Delmarva with deep snow in December cost the state about $4 million. Each year, DelDOT budgets about that much for snow-related expenses. When those funds are plowed away the department dips into the Transportation Trust Fund, which has about $450 million.

"We have plenty of funds available to fight any more storms," Mr. Westhoff said. "The governor has told us that we need to do whatever we need to do to make sure the roads are safe. This is not an area where you want to cut corners — if we don’t do a good job now, people will die."

Once all of the roads are clear and DelDOT and other agencies affected by the recent storms go back to business as usual, the groups will meet to review how they responded and what lessons they learned for future storms.

"Every division, every crew will undoubtedly get together after action to do reports and reviews," Mr. Westoff said. "Some will be more formal than others. There are a number of things that we can learn and do better.

"We are all eager to share that with each other — however we aren’t going to do that now. We don’t have time for retrospection right now."

In State News interview, Wicks discusses budget, stimulus fund projects

Delaware State News

DOVER — It has been a busy winter so far for Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks and her staff.

Before February even arrived today, the First State already experienced one of the worst snowstorms in its history, wind and flood advisories are commonplace, and other snow accumulations and significant rainfall have caused DelDOT crews to work overtime to keep the state’s roads clear.

And it’s not over yet.

"Leading up to the winter, we always make sure we have materials in place and the salt barns are full," Ms. Wicks said last week, before Saturday’s snowstorm which dropped another 6-8 inches across Kent and Sussex counties.

"We never want to be in a situation, like other states have been, where we run out of materials. The crews take a lot of pride in making sure all the equipment is in good working order. It’s a competition to a lot of them."

Still, some residents and municipalities criticized the way DelDOT handled weather maintenance during the huge Dec. 19 snowstorm, which blanketed parts of the state with close to 2 feet of snow.

"As is often the case, our staff did a very good job (on Dec. 19)," she said. "Our staff is very dedicated and hard-working and are always prepared. They know how valuable their role is to the state."

Of course, Ms. Wicks recognizes that no matter how hard her crews work, dealing with the weather, especially severe weather, will always be a "challenge" for DelDOT.

"We’re a very mobile society," Ms. Wicks said. "Sure, people can pick up some bread and eggs the day before a storm and be OK for a day or two, but by the third day, it’s ‘OK, now I need to get out of the house.’ It’s a challenge for us and it always will be, but we recognize our responsibility and we will continue to find different ways by which to meet the demands."

As for criticism from local municipalities, Ms. Wicks said her agency plans to keep the lines of communication open.

"We all learned from this event, and as long as we keep communicating, and do it effectively, we can improve upon it," Ms. Wicks said. "We’re all trying to do the right thing for the good of the public.

"I think, in the future, strategic communication is the key because communication is at the core of everything we do. If we see that kind of storm coming, we should be reaching out and communicating with municipalities up front. Are we all ready? Are you guys geared up for it, or are you in trouble and do you need help? We need to reinforce that we are all in this together."

While communication plays an important role in DelDOT’s operations, like all businesses, it’s money that drives its services.

For nine out of the past 12 years, including this year, DelDOT has exceeded the money it has put aside in its budget for storm maintenance.

Ms. Wicks said the department plans to make up for the shortfall this year by reallocating funds from other budget items, or perhaps using money remaining from projects which ended up costing less than projected.

"It is never a concern because I know we’ll be able to look at our efficiency and re-allocate services," Ms. Wicks said. "Each year we work on being more cost-effective."

Though a final decision has not been made, as far as where exactly the money will come from is concerned, Ms. Wicks said she knows the savings are out there.

"Our resources are tight, but we make the most out of every dollar we have," she said. "We’ll do things like reducing our paper usage, provide more things online, reduce the temperature in our building. The list is long, but we take every angle we can to be more efficient."

Ms. Wicks added that one thing DelDOT definitely won’t cut now or in the future is storm maintenance.

"If it’s a choice between keeping people safe through a snowstorm, and taking longer to replace a drainage pipe, we’ll choose keeping people safe every time," she said.

Ms. Wicks also said the way in which DelDOT has utilized the nearly $122 million it received for transportation projects from last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act "is going extremely well. It is a shining moment for this agency."

She said initially it was a challenge to figure how and where to spend the stimulus money, since only about 30 percent of the state’s road system was federally eligible, with even fewer roads eligible in Kent and Sussex counties.

Plus, Ms. Wicks said, the stimulus money had "a very aggressive time frame," which again limited their options.

"Even if we had an idea of a great project, if it wasn’t already designed, we didn’t have the land purchased or the permits, we couldn’t do it," she said.

But in the end, Ms. Wicks said her agency "took pride" in coming up with a variety of diverse projects to help boost the state’s infrastructure.

"The idea was to help in any kind of transportation project, improve our infrastructure and put people to work," she said. "Even with all of (the challenges), it was a great opportunity to get projects funded that I don’t know if we would have otherwise."

According to a report released in June 2009 by the CALPIRG Education Fund — a California watchdog group that "stands up for consumers" and makes sure government and corporations are held accountable for any wrongdoing — and Smart Growth America — a coalition of national, state and local organizations working on ways to improve the way the country plans and builds towns, cities and metro areas — Delaware was rated as the second most "outstanding" state in the nation when it came to utilizing its transportation stimulus money.

The report said, in general, public transportation and road and bridge repairs produce 31 percent and 16 percent more jobs, respectively, than construction of new roads and bridges.

Delaware, the report said, is one of only 11 states in the country that used 100 percent of its transportation funding on road repair and one of only seven states spending at least 10 percent of that money — 27.9 percent to be exact — on multimodal forms of transportation such as walking and biking trails.

Ms. Wicks said nearly eight months later the state has met all of its stimulus spending obligations as prescribed in the bill, and they have met all the imposed deadlines.

She said there are two more projects left — a toll plaza in Newark and Market Street in south Wilmington — until Delaware has taken care of the immediate list of stimulus projects.

Like much of the rest of the country, Delaware is facing massive budget deficits, high unemployment rates and a decrease in economic development.

Though the federal economic stimulus package helped agencies like DelDOT continue working on transportation projects in 2009, the funding won’t be around forever.

In addition, state agency revenue streams have dried up, and Ms. Wicks said DelDOT is no exception.

"The revenue package we put together in 2007 has not materialized the way we had hoped," she said. "Tolls are down, revenues are down. We are where we were before we started the package, and it’s disappointing, given the state’s demands and needs."

Ms. Wicks said there are many projects throughout the state that DelDOT will continue to provide infrastructure for which will be critical in allowing places like hospitals, universities and developments to move forward on their projects, as well.

"There are strategic things we can do in strategic places that will have a great long-term benefit," she said.

Ms. Wicks added that because of revenue shortfalls, DelDOT can’t be as aggressive with its "laundry list of projects" as it would like. But similarly to the rest of the state, it will do what it can to turn the economy around.

"Agencies like ours still need to fill critical positions. We still have to have good employees and retain good employees, and at the same time be leaner and more efficient," she said.

"We have to make decisions based upon what the core business value is while still providing the necessary services. But as we move forward in these critical times, things aren’t going to be easy for everybody to get used to."

Friday’s storm brought around 2 inches to Kent

Delaware State News

DOVER — Just in time for Friday’s snow, representatives from Dover and the state’s Department of Transportation reached an agreement on Thursday about which roads each will plow in the event of a major snowstorm.

The meeting was scheduled after the two entities disagreed on who was in charge of what during the Dec. 19 snowstorm which blanketed the area with about 18 inches of snow and caused some main arteries in Dover to remain covered in snow and ice several days after the storm.

Dover Mayor Carleton E. Carey Sr., said DelDOT will plow and weatherize Governors Avenue and, in exchange, the city of Dover will take care of Lafferty Lane and Horsepond Road on the east side of town.

"It’s a mileage trade-off that everybody was very receptive to," Mayor Carey said.

Gary Laing, municipal liaison with DelDOT, added that the state will also help the city with State Street if Dover asks for assistance during a large storm like the one last month.

"It would have to be a snowstorm of some kind of magnitude — four or five inches or more," he said.

"The problem for us with State Street is, there is on-street parking. The city’s equipment is better suited to handle that with storms like (Friday)."

Neither DelDOT nor Dover believe the exchange will have an affect on their budget since both will still be responsible for the same number of miles as before.

Representing Dover at the meeting were city manager Tony DePrima, Mayor Carey, Wayne Hutchinson, the emergency preparedness chief for the city, and Scott Koenig, the public works director.

At the table for the state were Thomas Greve, central district engineer, Joseph Wright, director of maintenance and operations, and Mr. Laing.

"I think it’s important for the public to know we were all there, discussing and resolving the problem," Mayor Carey said.

Mr. Laing agreed.

"We have a good line of communication with the city, and we improved it with the meeting. That’s what we were looking for — how can the public be better served?

"It’s a win for DelDOT, it’s a win for the city and most importantly it’s a win for the folks who need the roads to be cleared," he said.

The two men said the confusion can be attributed to the many changes that have taken place in the city since DelDOT and the city made their last formal agreement in 1984.

Since then, Mr. Laing and Mayor Carey said there have been several annexations in Dover and with it came changes over which roads maintained by which unit.

"It was time to bring (the old agreement) out, review it and adjust it if necessary," Mayor Carey said.

Though both parties agree that Thursday’s discussion resolved any lingering issues, Mr. Laing and Mayor Carey said a future meeting is still possible to finalize the most current agreement.

As for Friday’s storm, the National Weather Service said snow began to fall in the area just after midnight and lasted until about 7 a.m.

Totals reached their predicted amount, with Dover Air Force Base seeing two inches of snow, while Felton measured in at 1.7 inches.

Some students and teachers from area schools, such as Campus Community, Because We Care, Capital and Caesar Rodney, got to enjoy a day off, while others, like Smyrna, Milford, Lake Forest and Polytech, each had a two-hour delay.

Jim Westhoff, community relations officer with DelDOT, said crews began applying salt during the day on Thursday to prepare for the storm, and then were called back in between midnight and 2 a.m. to reapply salt and begin plowing the roads.

He said when commuters woke up Friday morning, the primary roads were clear and drivers were able to travel at regular speeds.

"We are extremely proud of our crews. They worked through the night so when commuters woke up (Friday) morning, the primary roads were clear," Mr. Westhoff said.

"Our people have been working so hard in the past two weeks and have spent a lot of time away from their families. They deserve some congratulations."

As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, he said DelDOT had put down 5,500 tons of salt and continued to do so until the evening to prevent the secondary roads from refreezing overnight.

Mr. Westhoff said Mother Nature helped crews during the day Friday with warmer temperatures, which helped the snow melt quickly.

He said crews in Sussex County worked until 6 p.m. Friday — 18 hours straight for many of them — and skeleton crews remained until about midnight to make sure the roads were in good shape.

In Kent County, crews left at 3 p.m. Friday.

By Jamie-Leigh Bissett

Delaware State News

DOVER — The Delaware Department of Transportation is estimating it spent about $3.5 million cleaning up snow last week, overspending its snow-removal budget by about $200,000.

DelDOT spokesman James Westoff said the estimate includes labor costs and overtime, materials, the snow-removal reimbursement program for subdivisions and payment to contractors hired by DelDOT.

"Since we have a few months of winter still ahead of us, we want the public to know that we are prepared and ready to tackle any additional snowstorms," he said. "We will spend whatever it costs to keep the roads safe."

Mr. Westoff said in the coming days, DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks and DelDOT’s finance department will meet and discuss which program or project will be impacted to supplement the costs of the snow removal beyond what has been budgeted.

January gathering comes after massive storm causes road woes

Delaware State News

DOVER — Mayor Carleton E. Carey Sr. said Wednesday that Dover leaders will meet in early January with Delaware highway officials in an attempt to clarify snow removal responsibilities on state-maintained roads in the city.

In the wake of the 18-inch weekend snowfall that has left motorists skidding on icy, bumpy streets, questions have arisen over who should plow where. While Delaware Department of Transportation has cleared Del. 8, U.S. routes 13 (DuPont Highway) and 113 (Bay Road) and several other roads, some city officials have wondered why DelDOT has not tackled the city portions of State Street and Governors Avenue, as well.

"In the past, we’ve said it’s the state’s responsibility to remove the snow from Governors Avenue and State Street," Mayor Carey said. "In the past, they were taken care of by the state."

Not so, said DelDOT spokesman Mike Williams, asserting they have been the city’s responsibility for at least the past eight years.

Regardless, DelDOT workers arrived on State Street Wednesday afternoon to help remove snow and ice from the street that is home to Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital. City workers had targeted the area the previous night.

"There is a countywide need for that road to be in good shape," said James Westhoff of DelDOT.

He and Mr. Williams emphasized that DelDOT wants to help Dover and other municipalities that lack the substantial manpower and large equipment that is most helpful in a fast, heavy snowfall like the one that hit Saturday.

"A city like Dover or any other municipality in the state easily could get overwhelmed," Mr. Williams said.

The snowfall was one of Delaware’s most abundant in recent decades.

Mr. Williams suggested confusion may arise because such storms arrive so rarely that not everyone is aware of what their agencies are supposed to do. But DelDOT, he said, is certain which roads in Dover it must clear: Del. 8, U.S. routes 13 and 113, Kenton Road, McKee Road, College Road and part of Walker Road.

Mr. Williams acknowledged DelDOT drivers during past storms may have helped elsewhere in the city — by, for example, continuing to drop sand after entering the city. And Mayor Carey said city crews have worked on State Street and Governors Avenue, despite a belief that they are not required to do so.

But by Wednesday afternoon, no one had eliminated the bumps responsible for perhaps the most jarring ride on a thoroughfare in Dover. On South Governors Avenue, from Wyoming Avenue north to Waples Avenue, rutted ice forced motorists to creep gingerly.

"It’s hard on the suspension. It’s dangerous," said Joel Halpern, who operates an optical center there. "It seems like it hasn’t been plowed. You would have thought the state would have done it."

But it is the city’s responsibility, Mr. Williams said — not DelDOT’s and not Daisy Construction Co.’s. Daisy Construction is improving Governors Avenue in that area under a state contract, but contractors on state jobs are not required to remove snow from driving surfaces, according to Mr. Williams.

Nonetheless, Daisy Construction has tried to help, said its supervisor at the Governors Avenue project site, Dathan Booth.

"We were out there again (Tuesday)," he said, but the challenge of removing thick ice in frigid weather is formidable. "There’s nothing I can do if it’s freezing."

At A&H Uniforms, near Mr. Halpern’s business, manager Kim Enss called the section of highway "horrible" and "a washboard." "But it’s not keeping (customers) from coming in," she said.

Indeed, city streets — bumps and all — were thick with traffic Wednesday. Travel was slow in many areas, including side streets, housing developments and stubbornly frozen Loockerman Street.

"I wish it were better, but I’m not making excuses," said City Councilman Eugene B. Ruane. "I don’t think the city ever will staff up or have the larger plows you need for abnormal, rare occurrences. I think people have to be patient and understanding."

He said constituents’ storm-related complaints to him have been limited to two e-mails and three telephone calls. Likewise, Councilman Reuben Salters said gripes have been fewer than he expected.

"We’re getting along one day at a time," Mr. Salters said. "Mother Nature will take care of us in a week or so."

DelDOT will pay necessary price to make roads safe