Cape County accepting bids for salt-storage structure

If the past two winters have taught area municipalities anything, it's to plan ahead.

Discussions of winter preparations typically center around equipment and road salt supplies, or lack of them. But recent efforts by Cape Girardeau County focus on storage.

The county is accepting requests for bids for a covered salt-storage structure. Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said it would replace an existing structure near the county's maintenance shed at 198 Highway 34 in Jackson.

The existing structure is old and in poor condition.

"This structure, I'm guessing, is probably 30 years old and made out of wood," Koeper said.

Upgrading to a new structure would provide a better storage environment for the salt. In the past, the existing structure encountered problems keeping the salt dry, he said. As a result, it would sometimes "come out in hard chunks" when spreaders scattered the salt on roads during wintry weather.

He said the county has discussed replacing it for a couple of years. Bids for the new structure request the supplier provide all materials, excluding the foundation and assembly instructions. A county crew will handle the construction.

"They're pretty economical to put up and allow us the flexibility to divide materials into different bins. In our case, we want three bins," Koeper said. The bins would hold salt, cinders and rock.

The new structure would be similar in size to the existing one -- about 50 feet by 50 feet, he said. While some municipalities have considered increasing the size of their storage to stock up on more salt because of the shortages experienced in recent winters, Koeper said a larger structure isn't necessary for the county.

"If we use 300 to 400 tons a year, that would be a lot," he said. "What we anticipate to build would store that amount, and we have another storage facility where we could store some if we needed."

The county will accept bids until June 15. Koeper said he hopes to have the new storage structure finished by September or October.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

198 Highway 34, Jackson, Mo.

1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo.