DC spent $67 million cleaning up winter storm that left streets buried for weeks

District of Columbia officials spent over $67 million on cleanup after the January 2025 winter storm in the district, closing roads and sidewalks for days after the snow pileup.

The district government took heat in late January and early February from critics who slammed Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration’s cleanup efforts during and after the storm, when freezing temperatures led to a layer of ice forming above the significant snowfall. That slow snow clearance, however, cost the district nearly $70 million.

Caitlin McMahon, communications director for the Office of the City Administrator, confirmed the cleanup numbers reported by the51st‘s Martin Austermuhle. McMahon told the Washington Examiner that the district Department of Public Works spent $50.4 million, the Department of General Services spent $11.1 million, and its Department of Transportation spent $5.7 million.

The Department of Public Works spent over $50 million on the cleanup in the form of salt purchases, contract plows, alley