Communities across the country are trying to replenish their stores of road salt. But, after the past harsh winter, the price of rock salt is climbing drastically.
Chris McGee is Raleigh's Transportation Field Services Manager. He says the city uses about 1,500 tons in a typical winter. But McGee said they used more than 4,000 tons this time around. Also, their cheaper purchasing contract just ended.
Raleigh recently signed a three-year contract that is 25 percent more expensive than the last one. McGee said they're buying enough salt for a typical winter right now.
“What we're hoping for is that we have a really mild winter and that we don't have to use a lot of it. But there's no way to control that, so as we get into winter and see how it's going that may affect other resources and what we're able to accomplish later on this spring.”
McGee says he hopes the NC Department of Transportation's salt vendor will allow Raleigh to buy on the state's contract.
NCDOT replenished its salt at last year's prices.