It seems as though every winter if there is more than a few inches of snow, we run into a salt shortage in North Huntingdon (“North Huntingdon running low on road salt; back order never filled,” Feb. 17, TribLIVE). At a cost of $15,000 per layer and most likely overtime for the road crew, this is a costly expense to the taxpayers of North Huntingdon.
Too often, too much salt is applied in the township. You can see it lying on the road surface days after being applied. If salt crystals are visible after the surface has dried, you have used too much salt. “Our goal is to make the roads passable,” even if there is some slush remaining on the streets, public works director Richard Albert said. I think that statement is a reasonable expectation for township taxpayers anytime it snows, not just when the salt is running low.
I’m not sure more road salt is needed as much as efficiently applying the product that is on hand. Just to put it into perspective, the township has ordered almost 7 million pounds of salt to be “comfortable.” Like the sticker on the back of a township pickup truck states, “GOT SALT?”
Robert Ruperto
North Huntingdon