A road salt shortage across Ohio during the late-January winter storms pushed Athens’ supply to low levels before a 500-ton shipment arrived Feb. 12.
The snowstorms the week of Jan. 25 closed schools, businesses and roads, leaving people stuck in their houses for days. One of the main issues during the storms was the roadways, which stayed slick and icy with near-constant snowfall.
However, because the storm came quickly, some towns were unprepared for road maintenance. Across the state, demand surged for salt supplied by two underground mines beneath Lake Erie that also serve surrounding states, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The shortage mainly affected cities in Northeastern Ohio, where they are also faced with lake effect snow, but southern Ohio cities like Athens were affected as well.
Jarod Balderson, Athens city engineer and director of public works, said the city was not in danger of running out of salt during the Jan. 26 storms, but the supply dwindled.
“The way the city works is we go into a process with ODOT, where you get a bid price, and we order so much salt,” Balderson said. “We try to anticipate what we're going to need for the next year. We were close with this last storm. I think we got below 50 tons, but we had an order in place, and were just waiting for that to be delivered.”
The city was waiting on the latest shipment of road salt to arrive, and 500 tons were delivered Feb. 12.
Balderson also said the city of Athens and Ohio University use the same salt supply, so when salt is ordered, the city also has to take into account what the university will need.
“Ohio University does not maintain our own stock of road salt, as our supply comes from the City of Athens,” Steve Mack, the executive director of facilities management, said in an email. “To ensure safety for the most recent event, we coordinated with the local ODOT district and secured the necessary salt required for the winter weather.”
The Ohio Department of Transportation has a regional branch in Athens but did not provide a response.
The total snowfall accumulation across Athens County was 6 to 9 inches, according to an OU report. Ryan Fogt, a professor of meteorology, said sleet totals of 0.4 to 0.6 inches melted and refroze into about an inch of ice atop the snow, worsening road conditions.
“For sidewalks, we used bagged products and had sufficient supply to manage the conditions,” Mack said in an email. “Salt application depends on the specifics of each event. Typically, we wait to treat roads until after plowing is complete to avoid removing salt that has already been spread. Depending on weather conditions following an event, additional treatment may be necessary.”
There is no more snow in the foreseeable forecast, but if another storm were to occur, Balderson said the city is ready.
"There would be enough (salt) and then we also work with ODOT, so if we were to run out, they would help us,” Balderson said.
