RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) – Road crews across Vermont are rationing salt supplies amid a regional shortage as towns and cities prepare for an incoming winter storm.
Vergennes Mayor Chris Bearor showed off the city’s new salt shed on Friday, saying it should be more filled than it currently is at this point in the year.
“The suppliers can’t get it to us fast enough, and that’s happening all over the state, probably all over New England, and we’re getting a little nervous,” Bearor said.
It’s the same situation in Rutland, where the city’s Department of Public Works had been saving salt and sand for the upcoming cold snap. But Friday’s snowstorm forced them to use their supplies earlier than planned.
“We’re gonna treat the roads now so we don’t have a big snowpack on Sunday and Monday, and our drivers start on icy roads. You want to start off on the right foot,” said Daniel MacIntyre, the highway operations supervisor.
MacIntyre has plowed the more than 70 miles of Rutland’s roads for over a decade. He said their salt supply is also running low.
The work done by his fleet on Friday ate into supplies they planned to use this weekend and next week. The next delivery remains uncertain.
“Right now, they don’t have it to give us at the moment. Some of it’s already allocated to a different part of the state or a different town. We got some of the last shipment, but they had to spread the wealth, too. We can’t get it all,” MacIntyre said.
The shortage means prioritizing plow routes in the city. Routes 4 and 7 will be salted, but more residential roads may be more snow-covered than usual and will get more sand for tire traction.
“You still want to maintain safe roads, but at the end of the day, it’s still going to be cold. People just have to slow down, pay attention,” MacIntyre said.
Safety remains the priority for both cities.
“If we get 15 inches of snow, it’s gonna be a little bit of a challenge for the first little bit of the storm until we get it under control,” Bearor said.
Road salt isn’t always effective, especially when temperatures are below 15 degrees.
Officials urge drivers to take it slow if they choose to venture out Sunday evening into Monday.
