YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Ohio Department of Transportation is sending 28 workers to Buffalo, New York, to help with snow removal efforts following a deadly blizzard.

The death toll jumped to 37 in Erie County on Wednesday.

Buffalo's Mayor Bryon Brown confirms that Buffalo Police have recovered 28 bodies of people who died during the storm.

A convoy of 28 ODOT workers, 12 tandem dump trucks, two utility mechanic trucks, and four crew cab pick-up trucks departed from Ashtabula this morning for a 6-day deployment.

The ODOT team includes highway technicians, mechanics, and managers from District 4-Akron, District 11-New Philadelphia and District 12-Cleveland.

“ODOT snowplow drivers and mechanics have been remarkable during this Christmas winter storm,” said Governor DeWine, in a press release. “We are happy to help our neighbors in New York state and know that they would do the same for us in Ohio if the situation was reversed.”

ODOT is answering the call for help from the New York Emergency Management Agency, which made the request for personnel and equipment to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) on Tuesday. 

The ODOT team left Ohio today and is traveling along I-90 to western New York.

Once the crew will get their first route assignments from local authorities once they arrive in Buffalo. They're planning to work two 12-hour shifts once they arrive and expect to return to Ohio on Tuesday, January 3.