Norwalk, December 4th
Understanding a significant number of Huron County communities were unable to obtain independent contracts for road salt, County Engineer, Joe Kovach, has selected to continue to share some of the Highway Department's supply of Road Salt with 19 Townships, the Villages of Greenwich, Monroeville, New London, North Fairfield, Wakeman and the City of Willard.
Kovach indicated the county's snow control operations is making the hard to find and costly Road Salt available, because safe roadways are everyone's priority once winter sets in in North Central Ohio.
Working with Township Trustees, Village Officials and City Managers, the County Engineer will assist communities in need of the hard to find road salt. An initial review revealed the need for about 3,000 tons of salt to meet the needs of Huron County's smaller communities.
Under the County Engineer's program, dubbed: Ohio Depends On Transportation, first priority will be to maintain an adequate supply of salt for the safe snow control operations of the more than 500 lane miles of county roadways the Engineer's crews must maintain. Priority will then be given to Township and local community snow fighting operations..
The price for salt under this plan will be approximately $50 per ton, based on the County's contract price and cost for loading and transporting the Road Salt. Monroeville, Wakeman, New London and Willard have already taken advantage of the program and have received an initial supply of Road Salt from the county.
Most Township snow control operations prefer to use the county's lower cost Salt & Grit Mix on township lightly traveled rural roadways. The addition of "grit" with road salt assists with traction where high volumes of traffic aren't available to optimize the road salt's effectiveness.
Since the 1930s, so-called "Rock Salt" or "Road Salt has been the most-utilized, cost-effective, ice-fighting material for keeping roadways safe during Ohio's winters. This year, however, snow control operations across Ohio experienced a dramatic spike in the price of road salt. Increases ranging from 50 to 300 percent cost increases were not unusual.
The County Engineer's early bidding and an ever watchful eye on Road Salt market trends permitted the Huron County to purchase a significant amount of Road Salt at prices only $9 dollars per ton above last year's prices. Even with the increased cost of salt and a growing demand Kovach said his snow crews will continue to maintain a strategy designed to make certain the department is as efficient as possible with the salt on hand while still ensuring continued safety on our roads.
The ability to lend a helping hand to the county's Townships, Villages and smaller communities " Is what we're here for", Kovach said, reminding us Huron County depends on its roadways to move business, commerce, school busses, safety forces and area residents, " it's our job, the task of local government, to make sure that can be done a safely as possible".
Sharing the county's supply of salt will certainly help.
