Pass the salt: Road crews need it

Repeated rounds of ice and snow this winter are putting a strain on some local governments to keep road salt on hand.

A shortage of salt for road treatments is becoming more widespread, officials say.

"Our salt bin is empty right now," Cape Girardeau County Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said Thursday. The county already has used more than twice its normal annual supply of salt this season.

The early-season winter storm that dropped several inches of snow and ice on the region in December used all of the county's initial allotment. Several more icy events later, Koeper said salt is getting harder to acquire.

"Everybody wants it, but there's not much to go around, and it takes a few weeks to get here," he said.

The salt the county buys mostly comes up the Mississippi River on barges from Louisiana. There are some local avenues to buy salt, and Koeper said the county is exploring those.

But even then, there are shortages that result in a wait, he said. The county will use a mix of salt brine, along with gravel and sand, to treat roads if there is another winter weather storm in the immediate future,

Koeper said.

City of Cape Girardeau public works director Tim Gramling said the city is faring better on its salt supply, with about half of its original amount for the season still available.

"We could probably handle three or four more of like what we just had," he said, referring to the ice and snow the city received Tuesday. "Just as long as we don't get another storm like we did in December, then we should be in good shape."

On Dec. 5 and 6, the area received between six and 10 inches of snow.

But with a shortage ongoing, the city may try to buy more salt if it can be found at a reasonable price, Gramling said.

Prices have shot up as cities across the country have battled excessive amounts of ice and snow. Gramling said the city bought its supply of salt for this year at $49.15 a ton, but he is hearing a ton now is being sold anywhere from $100 and $200.

The Missouri Department of Transportation's Southeast District also reports using about three times as much salt than during the previous winter season, along with paying a higher amount -- $1.9 million -- for salt this year than the 10-year average of $1.2 million. The district includes 25 counties in Southeast Missouri.

The city of Jackson has avoided problems from the salt shortage by not including salt at all in the city's road treatment program. The city instead uses a mix of cinders and aggregate, or gravel, which is recycled and used again, said public works director Rodney Bollinger in an email. He said the city does not have a shortage of either of those materials.

Southeast Missouri State University uses salt to treat slick surfaces on campus and is dealing with a shortage.

Angela Meyer, director of facilities management at the university, said in an email the university has "minimal bulk salt left and are currently using sand with the little salt we have left."

The university on Thursday received eight pallets containing 50 bags of salt each that will be used at building entrances and along sidewalks and stairs. Southeast is also keeping the forecast in mind.

A hazardous weather outlook issued early Thursday morning for the area calls for a low potential for up to an inch of snow Friday night, and temperatures through the next four days aren't expected to surpass 35 degrees. The National Weather Service also stated that several rounds of snow are possible between Saturday night and Wednesday, though the accumulations are forecast as very light.

"We are using our remaining resources sparingly knowing that more winter weather is expected next week," Meyer said in the email. "We have calls into several vendors in order to obtain more bulk salt when it becomes available."

Staff writer Ruth Campbell and the Standard Democrat contributed to this report.

eragan@semissourian.com

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