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Winter Maintenance Levels

Key Takeaways

  • We prioritize where to send equipment and resources during a storm based on safety, traffic volume and impacts to freight.
  • Our goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow.
  • Plan ahead when there's a storm. Consider staying at home or altering your plans if you can.

Snow plow on US 26

ODOT has a Winter Level of Service Plan

ODOT’s statewide Winter Level of Service Plan allows us to prioritize where to send equipment and resources and determine which 
roads will be treated and plowed and how often. Priorities are based on safety, the relative amounts of traffic that the highways carry and the anticipated impact to commerce and industry. 

There are five Statewide Levels of Service. Highways tagged for high volume priority service are plowed first; medium and low volume highways are handled as soon as possible thereafter.

Our goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow. During a one-day storm, ODOT may use approximately 600 truckloads of sand and 150 loads of de-icer. 

What can drivers do? Plan ahead:
  • Stay home during winter storms if you can.
  • Consider altering your travel plans to leave early or stay late.
  • Carry chains and know how to use them.
  • Have food, water, medicine and other emergency supplies in your car.
  • Keep your phone charged.
  • Have a full tank of gas or a full charge on your electric vehicle. 
  • Visit TripCheck.com for up-to-the-minute road conditions and more information on Oregon’s chain law and chain requirements. Or get the latest road conditions by calling 511.
ODOT’s winter maintenance practices may not reflect the practices used on city or county roadways. Contact your city or county for that information.