That's how governments work after all—people don't give them much thought until something goes wrong.

In Colorado, which sports some of the country's worst (or best, depending on your view) weather, keeping the highways open when snowfall is measured in feet is a monumental task. Some mountain passes in the state get more than 400 inches of snow per year. The law requiring that big rigs carry chains to help with traction in winter weather is in effect from September to June. Loveland Pass, at 11,990 feet and with a steep 6.7 percent grade, is kept open all winter for trucks hauling hazardous materials that can't go through the famous Eisenhower Tunnel.

All told, Colorado's Department of Transportation (CDOT) has one of the toughest jobs of any highway department in the country: keeping the roads open even with all that white stuff. They work with state and federal agencies, follow weather a thousand miles and many days away, move employees all over the state, and track a plowload of data points, right down to pavement temperature, to push back against Mother Nature.