The same miles of roads, but fewer plows to keep them clean.

That’s been the pattern for the Ottawa County and Allegan County road commissions for several years. Both will have two less drivers than last year because of budget trouble.

“The main thing is the services we provided in the past are taking longer,” said Bill Nelson, Allegan County Road Commission director. “You’ll especially see it on the local roads. We’ll make sure the primary roads are in good shape before moving to local roads.”

Allegan County plans to have 34 drivers this season, while Ottawa County is down to 66 drivers. To replace some of the lost drivers, Ottawa will use five private drivers and four from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Both counties have some bigger trucks and wing plows on some vehicles to make up for fewer total plows.

“Time will tell, but the supervisors feel confident they can make it work,” Rubley said.

Less road money isn’t just a county issue. MDOT is once again asking road commissions to cut back on service to some state roads to save money.

Crews will plow enough of roads like Lake Michigan Drive and Chicago Drive so one wheel track is “generally bare of ice and snow” in each lane.

The state hopes this will cut back on overtime costs. Drivers will come back during regular working hours to finish clearing these roads, Rubley said.

This is the third year MDOT has enforced this policy, Rubley said. In that time, he’s had some complaints but not many.

“We’ve had calls from a couple people concerned with Lake Michigan Drive, with kids going to college,” Rubley said. “I tell them what MDOT told us to do.”

Of course, these are only real issues if it snows. Rubley said last year was average, but forecasters predict a heavy back half during the 2010-11 season.