Blizzard: Boom or bust

The storm of the decade is causing a frosty holiday sales season for some local businesses, but it brought a timely holiday burst of work for others.

The winners include VDOT employees who got paid extra to jump behind the wheel of heavy-duty plow trucks and clear roads throughout the storm.

Jeffrey Caldwell, a spokesman for VDOT, said that the agency is still adding up the costs of the storm but that the department predicts it will cost about $10 million a day for each day that trucks are out plowing. That could mean $30 million or $40 million.

“This was a historic storm. We don’t see this but every 10 or 15 years,” Caldwell said. “It came down much faster, and two feet of accumulation is not a normal occurrence in Virginia.”

It’s also a bonanza for construction companies that VDOT hires to plow state roads.

And it’s a boon to tow truck drivers and body shops that reap the benefit of a state whose population rarely drives on snow. The Virginia State Police reported more than 4,000 crashes and disabled vehicles across the state.

AAA in Virginia received more than 2,500 calls on the busiest days, which is about 55 percent higher than normal, according to the motorist aid association. Many of the calls were for dead batteries, on account of the chill.

Other winners are likely local restaurants that were open – and within walking distance of lots of customers.

Blizzard losers might be independent stores that were closed on the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas. Shoppers will still likely spend the same amount on presents, but they might choose to rush and get all their shopping done in one trip to the mall.

The Washington Business Journal has a story about local retailers and reports that many shoppers are electing to go to indoor shopping centers rather than outdoor ones (such as Stony Point and Short Pump, in Richmond’s case).

An idea for a new business: driver training for snow plow operators. At least two big snow plows were disabled on the side of the road. One outside Staunton was flipped over on its side. VDOT does not yet know how many plows were disabled.

Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to Editor@richmondbizsense.com.