Colorado Department of Transportation crews strap up for winter season with fewest job vacancies in years

Colorado Department of Transportation crews are transitioning their heavy trucks from asphalt carriers back to snowplows as a winter storm heads through the Centennial State. But CDOT teams said they're more prepared this winter than the last few for one specific reason: staffing.  

CBS Colorado has reported on struggles CDOT has had with hiring and retaining operators and crews in the past, with the department saying it is a key priority to be able to keep its workforce robust and functioning. Now, it can proudly boast a 10% vacancy rate for positions, which is a drastic decrease in only a few years from the roughly 30% it was looking at then.

"We're hitting the roads more," Stacia Sellers, CDOT Communications Lead explained. "We actually are fully staffed on Berthoud Pass as well as up at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, which we have not been fully staffed there in a few years."

The storm coming Friday isn't expected to be especially challenging in Colorado's mid-mountain areas like Summit County, but crews are ready regardless, making sure plow blades are sharp and attached and ready to clear snow should the road cool off and things start to stick.