Road Salt

HARRODSBURG — With a winter storm watch on hand for Thursday, members of the Harrodsburg City Commission and Mayor Eddie Long are concerned about the city’s depleted road salt reserves. “We’ve already gone through 90 percent of our allotted salt budget for this year,” said Commissioner Charlie Mattingly, who oversees the Public Works Department. “Just to put things into perspective, last year at this time, we only went through 20 percent of our salt budget.

HARRODSBURG - City officials voted Monday to purchase a minimum of 350 tons of salt at $130 a ton from Chemical Equipment Labs in Jeffersonville, Ind. Harrodsburg was one of many small towns scrambling to find a rock salt supplier as they brace for skyrocketing prices. The $130 price is double what the city paid per ton last year when it bought 500 tons. It also does not include the price of trucking. The deal was reached after the company that Harrodsburg used in the past would not agree to sell this year.

The mild weather this winter may have been a disappointment for those hoping for a white Christmas or some snowy recreation, but it has also meant hundreds of thousands in savings for area governments. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Thursday, Groundhog Day, meaning six more weeks of winter if you are superstitious. However, if that means six more weeks of mid-50s temperatures during the day, city and county road crews will be able to live with that. Duane Campbell, Boyle County Public Works director, said the county averaged ordering about 1,000 tons of road salt over the last four years before last year's frequent ice and snow events meant having to order about 1,300 tons.

With another winter storm rolling into the area today, officials in some counties are eyeing their dwindling road salt supplies warily. Multiple snow and ice storms in December have caused counties throughout the area to use much more salt than usual. Some road departments are struggling with low supplies and expended salt budgets, but Boyle County and Danville officials said they’re in good shape. Boyle County Public Works Director Duane Campbell said the county road department received a new shipment of 200 tons of road salt last week, so Boyle is well-prepared for the coming storm.

Kentucky might be 600 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, but you can thank salt water for keeping our roads clear when the weather turns cold. That's because the state Department of Transportation relies chiefly on salt brine - a mixture of water and salt - to prevent ice from sticking to roads. As a tool, it's nearly perfect for a cash-strapped state: It's easy to use, it works and it's cheap, just 5 cents a gallon. To apply salt brine, trucks simply spray it on a road 12 to 24 hours before expected snow.

To the surprise of many, including City Manager Paul Stansbury and Assistant City Engineer Josh Morgan, Danville has been awarded $200,000 in additional municipal aid funds. A letter from B.D. Wilson, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Rural and Municipal Aid, said in a letter that in 2005 the legislature provided $25 million for cities to use on bridges, paving and rehabilitation of existing city streets. Morgan said the city engineer's office applied for the money that same year but ultimately forgot about it. The letter states, "Although your city was awarded $200,000 from this funding, the Office of Rural and Secondary Roads was not able to set up the funding because your city's previous application priority No. 1 was for a state-maintained street.

Snow and some ice across most of the area Thursday caused dicey driving conditions, but emergency responders said accidents on the roadways were minor. The latest dose of winter weather that started Thursday afternoon brought several inches of snow that continued until about 9 p.m. and also deposited some icy precipitation to the south and west. Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger said roads were slick, including the steep stretch of U.S. 27 through Hall’s Gap, causing at least eight crashes in the county Thursday afternoon and evening.

Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted a short winter and an early spring when he failed to see his shadow a couple of weeks ago, but if any more snow falls on Jessamine County between now and then, even one more week of winter could be too many. And that’s because just about everyone is out of road salt. The city crews for Wilmore and Nicholasville ran out of salt Wednesday night, and the county crew was scraping the bottom of the barrel after Thursday morning’s routes. Thanks to the large amount of snow Kentucky has received this winter, it’s not surprising.

Arlen Sanders, executive director of the Lincoln County Economic Development Authority, called a meeting of people who attend a lot of meetings, but when it ended everyone who participated felt it was time well spent. For anyone who regularly attends the various boards and committees that run the day-to-day business of the county, it provided a refreshing change of pace to see dialogue and problem-solving taking place in lieu of the usual slogging through a published agenda. The Lincoln Conversation was held at the Senior Center last Thursday night and brought together elected county and city leaders and the heads of various departments and organizations that support the county.

It may not be a repeat of the massive winter disaster that happened in January 2009, but with up to a quarter-inch of ice possible overnight emergency management officials and utilities are preparing for any contingency. The National Weather Service in Louisville has issued a winter storm warning for south central Kentucky, including Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer Counties. Brian Schoettmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Louisville, said a winter warning typically describes an area getting above 4 inches of any kind of freezing precipitation in a 12-hour period.

STANFORD - Federal road crews will be salting roads in Lincoln County and nine other area counties in preparation for snow forecasted for this afternoon and tomorrow. Drivers should watch out for pre-treating crews and slow down near them, according to a news release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Road condition reports for major routes are available by calling 511 or visiting www.511.ky.gov.

The mild weather this winter may have been a disappointment for those hoping for a white Christmas or some snowy recreation, but it has also meant hundreds of thousands in savings for area governments. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Thursday, Groundhog Day, meaning six more weeks of winter if you are superstitious. However, if that means six more weeks of mid-50s temperatures during the day, city and county road crews will be able to live with that. Duane Campbell, Boyle County Public Works director, said the county averaged ordering about 1,000 tons of road salt over the last four years before last year's frequent ice and snow events meant having to order about 1,300 tons.

Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted a short winter and an early spring when he failed to see his shadow a couple of weeks ago, but if any more snow falls on Jessamine County between now and then, even one more week of winter could be too many. And that’s because just about everyone is out of road salt. The city crews for Wilmore and Nicholasville ran out of salt Wednesday night, and the county crew was scraping the bottom of the barrel after Thursday morning’s routes. Thanks to the large amount of snow Kentucky has received this winter, it’s not surprising.

Snow and some ice across most of the area Thursday caused dicey driving conditions, but emergency responders said accidents on the roadways were minor. The latest dose of winter weather that started Thursday afternoon brought several inches of snow that continued until about 9 p.m. and also deposited some icy precipitation to the south and west. Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger said roads were slick, including the steep stretch of U.S. 27 through Hall’s Gap, causing at least eight crashes in the county Thursday afternoon and evening.

With another winter storm rolling into the area today, officials in some counties are eyeing their dwindling road salt supplies warily. Multiple snow and ice storms in December have caused counties throughout the area to use much more salt than usual. Some road departments are struggling with low supplies and expended salt budgets, but Boyle County and Danville officials said they’re in good shape. Boyle County Public Works Director Duane Campbell said the county road department received a new shipment of 200 tons of road salt last week, so Boyle is well-prepared for the coming storm.

HARRODSBURG — With a winter storm watch on hand for Thursday, members of the Harrodsburg City Commission and Mayor Eddie Long are concerned about the city’s depleted road salt reserves. “We’ve already gone through 90 percent of our allotted salt budget for this year,” said Commissioner Charlie Mattingly, who oversees the Public Works Department. “Just to put things into perspective, last year at this time, we only went through 20 percent of our salt budget.

It may not be a repeat of the massive winter disaster that happened in January 2009, but with up to a quarter-inch of ice possible overnight emergency management officials and utilities are preparing for any contingency. The National Weather Service in Louisville has issued a winter storm warning for south central Kentucky, including Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer Counties. Brian Schoettmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Louisville, said a winter warning typically describes an area getting above 4 inches of any kind of freezing precipitation in a 12-hour period.

To the surprise of many, including City Manager Paul Stansbury and Assistant City Engineer Josh Morgan, Danville has been awarded $200,000 in additional municipal aid funds. A letter from B.D. Wilson, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Rural and Municipal Aid, said in a letter that in 2005 the legislature provided $25 million for cities to use on bridges, paving and rehabilitation of existing city streets. Morgan said the city engineer's office applied for the money that same year but ultimately forgot about it. The letter states, "Although your city was awarded $200,000 from this funding, the Office of Rural and Secondary Roads was not able to set up the funding because your city's previous application priority No. 1 was for a state-maintained street.

HARRODSBURG - City officials voted Monday to purchase a minimum of 350 tons of salt at $130 a ton from Chemical Equipment Labs in Jeffersonville, Ind. Harrodsburg was one of many small towns scrambling to find a rock salt supplier as they brace for skyrocketing prices. The $130 price is double what the city paid per ton last year when it bought 500 tons. It also does not include the price of trucking. The deal was reached after the company that Harrodsburg used in the past would not agree to sell this year.

Arlen Sanders, executive director of the Lincoln County Economic Development Authority, called a meeting of people who attend a lot of meetings, but when it ended everyone who participated felt it was time well spent. For anyone who regularly attends the various boards and committees that run the day-to-day business of the county, it provided a refreshing change of pace to see dialogue and problem-solving taking place in lieu of the usual slogging through a published agenda. The Lincoln Conversation was held at the Senior Center last Thursday night and brought together elected county and city leaders and the heads of various departments and organizations that support the county.