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Post by concerned on Sept 23, 2008 10:03:54 GMT -5
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Post by Clipper on Sept 23, 2008 10:16:33 GMT -5
Just save enough salt for the week that I am there at Christmas time, LOL.
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Post by rrogers40 on Sept 23, 2008 13:15:07 GMT -5
Maybe this will mean that they actually have to think before throwing salt down. OMG! What are they going to do? Heaven forbid if they cant throw four inches of salt on the road every time we get a inch of snow!
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Post by dgriffin on Sept 23, 2008 16:31:10 GMT -5
Doesn't this sound familiar? Each year, one highway department or another complains they won't have enough of this or that ... mostly money ... for gas, overtime, salt, etc.
Then along come 2 snow storms and the papers cry again with news that the highway department budget is used up (it's still December), overtime is overspent ... what?, they're going to ask Boy Scouts to shovel the roads?
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Post by clarencebunsen on Sept 23, 2008 20:27:06 GMT -5
My understanding from a conversation with a member of the county highway department is that most (or maybe all) towns have a budget that runs from January through December. If heavy snows in December force higher usage than budgeted, town highway departments can't place orders until the new budget kicks in January. With normal lead times this means deliveries in late January. The county acts as a backstop for towns that run short, lending them salt to get through. I'm not sure if this is done on or off the books.
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Post by wilum47 on Sept 24, 2008 9:40:28 GMT -5
How could this country have a salt shortage!?!?!
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Post by dgriffin on Sept 24, 2008 15:24:25 GMT -5
My understanding from a conversation with a member of the county highway department is that most (or maybe all) towns have a budget that runs from January through December. CB, that explains why they go broke in December. Not a great budget plan. |
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Post by dgriffin on Sept 24, 2008 15:28:32 GMT -5
How could this country have a salt shortage!?!?! McDonald's french fries. Seriously (kinda), McDonalds put half of the potato farmers in Maine back in business in the 1960's and '70's. I don't remember the figure but today's percentage of potatoes that become french fries is huge, I've read. Or maybe everyone taking cholesterol-reducing medicines has forgotten to limit their salt intake.  |
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Post by WestmoGuy on Sept 24, 2008 15:53:35 GMT -5
I remember last year, wasnt their a delivery slowdown or something? My town got very low and they ended up using mostly sand instead of the sand/salt mixture towards the end of the season.
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Post by kim on Sept 24, 2008 15:56:35 GMT -5
Why can't they use sand?
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Post by golden on Sept 24, 2008 15:57:08 GMT -5
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 24, 2008 17:41:38 GMT -5
Salt melts and for the most part isn't a problem. Sand on the other hand, in the City, has a tendency to pile up and plug up the sewers. Not a good thing when a 'Spring Thaw' comes along. On the country roads, sand is mixed with a little salt to keep it from freezing into one large solid pile. They keep it covered so that the salt doesn't wash away. This usually works fine for the Country Roads that don't have storm sewers. |
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Post by dgriffin on Sept 24, 2008 21:26:46 GMT -5
The shortage could have to do with distribution problems, rather than production. A friend of mine rents property to Cargill for their salt pile here locally. There have been a number of problems and lawsuits over ruined water wells at nearby homes, etc. Locating a place for a salt pile must be difficult these days, and that might help to reduce the distribution channels and cause shortages.
An aside, there's a road down near the village that is quite close to the NYS Thruway and residents have sued the Thruway Authority for salting their wells after years of applying the stuff to the Thruway's road surface. I don't remember the outcome. Imagine hitting patches of ice on the Thruway where they're no longer allowed to salt.
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Post by frankcor on Sept 25, 2008 15:45:19 GMT -5
Kim asked: "Why can't they use sand?"
Salt and sand do two different things. Sand provides traction while sitting on top of the ice but eventually, it blows away. Salt melts the ice so you can get traction from the pavement.
A mix of sand and salt is usually the best -- the sand provides traction until the salt can melt the ice.
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