Published: November 02, 2009 10:58 pm      

No shortage of salt

Counties report full storage bins

What a difference a year makes.

Area highway departments battled a shortage of available supplies of road salt last winter. And when it could be found, the price was close to $120 per ton.

The Howard, Miami and Tipton county highway departments all report a more than adequate supply of salt on hand if the 2009-2010 winter season is normal. And the price is back to a more reasonable cost of less than $70 per ton.

Ted Cain, superintendent of the Howard County Highway Department, said the county’s salt bins are full right now. Cain said the county purchased salt at the end of the 2009 winter season.

The county also can receive up to 800 tons of salt from the supplier that has the contract with the Indiana Department of Transportation at the state price.

Cain said Howard County has between 300 and 400 tons of the salt mix ready for the winter driving season.

He said the county highway department uses between 800 and 1,000 tons of salt during a normal winter.

Sam Waltz, superintendent of the Miami County Highway Department, said the department has been allocated the same amount of salt it received last winter.

He said the county changed to Morton Salt as its supplier several years ago.

“We’re paying about $70 per ton, which is $50 per ton less than what we paid last year,” Waltz said.

Both Miami County salt sheds are full, and Waltz said another delivery will be ordered for each facility in December.

Larry Whitesell, superintendent of the Tipton County Highway Department, said the county has all of its salt ordered and that it was purchased earlier in the year. He said the salt supply has never been a problem for the county.

“We budget $7,000 per year for salt,” he said. “That’s the amount of salt the state highway department puts down in two hours.

“We don’t use a lot of salt,” Whitesell said. “Right now we have 1,000 tons of abrasive materials.”

The Indiana State Climate Office at Purdue University is predicting a warmer-than-normal winter for the state and a chance of above-normal precipitation, mainly in the form of rain.

• Ken de la Bastide is the Kokomo Tribune enterprise editor. He can be reached at 765-454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com