Yikes, all the more reason to avoid driving whenever possible. And work from home…
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Dave Barber did the math. Now Peoria’s public works director is crossing his fingers and hoping his city has enough road salt to ride out the winter.
The central Illinois city recently paid almost $48 a ton to replenish its salt supply, an increase of 30% – or $500,000 – over last year. Even so, Barber feels fortunate.
Some towns are paying as much as $170 a ton as salt prices nationwide soar because of shipping problems and surging demand. Hoping for the best – but preparing for the worst – communities are making plans to stretch supplies by mixing salt with sand, brine or even beet juice.
“It’s a balancing act between money and quantity,” said Barber, who expects to mix the city’s salt supply with two parts of sand, effectively cutting the per-ton cost to about $23. “This year, the dollars are going to govern for us, and we’re going to try to live within the budget.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation contracted to buy 687,730 tons of salt at prices ranging from $55 to $140 a ton. Combined with the 172,000 tons left over from last winter, the department has slightly more than what it used last winter, Secretary Milton Sees said.
