Snowplow Driver Shortage Prompts $200 an Hour Offer to Clear Roads

A severe snow storm could be followed by a flurry of cash in Massachusetts this winter, as some towns are offering big bucks to those willing to clear the roads.

Snowplow drivers are essential to ensure that services keep running smoothly. Police, firefighters and paramedics depend on them and they keep traffic moving while ensuring that the roads are safe.

But a driver shortage in the state last year meant that roads couldn't be completely cleared of the white stuff.

That's spurred communities to make sure it doesn't happen again this year by offering incentives for those with their own trucks and a commercial driver's license.

Chelmsford Town Manager Paul Cohen said he needed people to start urgently and that he was offering signing-up bonuses for drivers.

Signs advertising for drivers are prominent along the roadside in the town, which is around 24 miles northwest of Boston, NECN reported.

"This is a problem that has gone on for the last few years and it's getting worse," he told the network. "It's just a need that has to be met because the weather is coming."

Meanwhile, Chelmsford towing company owner Chris Ferrera said: "We can't find anybody."

"That's a problem because I can't respond to the needs of the town or the community that I work for, and so who is going to fill that void?" he told the network.

Chelmsford is offering $110 an hour, NECN reported. In Worcester, which is located around 40 miles west of the state capital, rates range from $85 an hour for someone with a pick-up 4 by 4, to $175 an hour using a Loader Cat 944.

The city of Lowell is offering up to $155 an hour, while $125 an hour is on offer in Sandwich. Meanwhile, Watertown in Greater Boston is paying hourly rates of over $200, according to NECN.

The mean hourly wage across all occupations in Massachusetts was $33.66 according to May 2020 figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Paying a Fair Rate

One Chelmsford resident, Mike Ruby, told the network that he believes the rates are fair.

"Considering that you have to bring your truck and have to stay up all night and have to be prepared, and the truck has to be running, I think it's pretty reasonable," he said.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which Newsweek has contacted for comment, is offering $31.25 per hour for drivers using their plow trucks.

Although temperatures are frequently below freezing in November, Massachusetts typically doesn't usually get its first snowfall until the end of the month or in early December, Massachusetts Live reported.

It said that over the last 30 years, February has been the snowiest month, with an average of 15.8 inches.