Heading into the winter months, the Michigan Department of Transportation is facing a shortage of plow drivers. Spokesperson Nick Schirripa tells WSJM News in the southwest Michigan region, they’re about 34 drivers down from their normal staffing level. This will affect how the roads are maintained in winter weather.
“Our interstates, our highways, expressways will take a priority during winter weather events,” Schirripa said. “As snow is falling, we’re going to have to focus our efforts on I-94, I-196, US-31, US-131 corridors. It’s kind of where our efforts are going to have to focus, and then the M routes, the more rural routes are going to be secondary.”
Schirripa says local road agencies probably won’t pick up the slack as they face shortages of their own and there are contract issues when it comes to who is responsible for what roads. Drivers may need some patience this winter.
“Roads aren’t going to go unplowed. It’s just they’re not going to be plowed as quickly or as soon as people may have been used to in the past.”
Schirripa says to be an MDOT plow driver, you need a CDL. In the current job market, drivers with CDLs are in demand. MDOT is trying to hire as many plow drivers as it can. Below are some links to sites where you can apply to be an MDOT plow driver:
NEOGOV general job posting link:
NEOGOV MDOT seasonal (limited-term) driver – Southwest link: