PROVIDENCE – The city spent more than $3.8 million clearing snow from last month’s historic blizzard.
According to city figures, that is roughly six times more than the $562,660 that was spent for a storm two weeks prior and $1.6 million more than was budgeted for snow removal for the entire the fiscal year.
The city budgeted a total of $2.2 million for snow removal last summer. Mayor Brett P. Smiley said the city’s departments will now have to “do more with less” after signing the $624 million budget for fiscal year 2026 in July.
To cover the extra costs, the city has implemented an essential spending freeze and plans to seek FEMA reimbursement for cleanup operations, said Josh Estrella, communications director for the mayor.
Estrella said the $3.8 million spent after the blizzard included staff overtime across multiple departments. He added that the total also includes “supplies which include salt, sand and fuel, repair services and contracted outside vendors for both snow removal and snow hauling.”
What is being called the "Blizzard of 26," the storm blanketed the region with snow, canceled flights, disrupted transit and downed power lines. More than 3 feet fell in parts of Rhode Island, including Providence, between Feb. 22 and Feb. 24 - surpassing snow totals from the historic Blizzard of 1978 that struck the Northeast, the weather service said.
City officials said final cost figures were not available until March 11 as invoices from vendors and departments were still being processed following the storm.
While the state is generally responsible for clearing and funding state roads, the R.I. Department of Transportation provided snow removal support in Providence at no cost to the city, said Olivia DaRocha, press secretary for Gov. Daniel J. McKee.
The state also plans to seek federal reimbursement for the blizzard, a process coordinated by the R.I. Emergency Management Agency, she noted.
Elsewhere in Rhode Island, Cumberland’s snow removal budget was exhausted by last week’s blizzard and the previous storm, The Valley Breeze reported March 5.
(UPDATE: Adds comment from Josh Estrella, communications director for the Providence mayor the 4th paragraph.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
