Johnson City employee Kenneth Alexander unloads salt earlier this winter.
(Tony Duncan / Johnson City Press)
Salt supplies running low; more uncertain
By Gary B. Gray and Heather RichardsonPress Staff Writers
ggray@johnsoncitypress.com; hrichardson@johnsoncitypress.com
With snowstorm after snowstorm hitting the region, several municipalities are running very low on road salt supplies and are uncertain when new shipments will be coming in.
It turns out that snow, the very thing Johnson City and other Tennessee cities have been fighting to remove from highways and roads, is causing a delay in the delivery of road salt to the area.
The much-needed commodity begins its journey in Louisiana at the Port of New Orleans. The problem is, the Mississippi River has risen because of runoff from melting snow and has been deemed unsafe for travel in many locations. Barges loaded with the stuff would normally trek up to Knoxville via the Tennessee River, where it is unloaded at a Burkhart Industries terminal.
Because of the snag, the company is rationing its supply and distributing equal amounts to the Tennessee Department of Transportation and to cities statewide, said Mike Williams, a construction supervisor with the city’s public works street division.
“We have about 400 tons on hand — enough to handle another two-day snow event,” Williams said. “We did receive 50 tons Monday, and we hope to get another 400 to 500 tons Tuesday or Wednesday. No salt is expected to reach the Knoxville terminal until Monday.”
The city has an order in for 1,500 tons, but company representatives have told Williams it will be sent in increments over a two-week period, he said. “We will get what we ordered, it just won’t be when we were expecting it,” he added.
Williams said the city also has ordered 4,500 gallons of magnesium chloride from a Goshen, Ind., company. The available salt is treated with the chemical, which allows salt to remain effective at lower temperatures and helps the salt stick to roads. The order is expected to arrive in Johnson City today.
City officials also have been forced to change their snow-removal strategy because of the shortage.
“Due to the shortage of salt on hand, our main focus will be on primary routes and on 911 calls,” he said. “Once you get out on a primary route you’ll be OK.”
Jonesborough Operations Manager Craig Ford said the town’s salt supply is at a “critical level” and it will also likely have to prioritize roads and ration the remaining salt supply.
Ford said the town is down to about 50 tons of salt and with its supply also coming out of Knoxville they will not receive another shipment for at least next week.
“Our concern at this point is if we do get more snow this weekend,” Ford said.
The National Weather Service is forecasting a possibility of snow beginning Sunday evening and lasting through Monday.
State routes and the town’s main roads will be the first to be treated, Ford said. Main artery and connector roads like Main Street and Depot Street will be next in line with secondary roads and subdivisions being the least of the town’s priority.
The town did order an extra shipment of chat and the roads will likely see more of the small rock mixture than usual. While chat doesn’t melt the ice or snow Ford said it does provide more traction, making roads a little safer for travel.
“You always want to do the best with what you’ve got to work with,” Ford said. “We just want people to understand this weekend if they are wondering why they didn’t get salt that there are some issues beyond our control that are going on.”
The town is about $7,000 over its budget for salt.
“We typically place an order for 100 tons of salt each time we place an order and we have right now with the snow storms we’ve already used well over 200 tons of salt,” Ford said. “That may not seem like a lot for some people but for Jonesborough it is a lot.”
Washington County seems to be in a more comfortable situation. County Highway Superintendent John Deakins said the county is in pretty good shape as of now with about 1,000 tons of salt and chat mix left — a supply Deakins said should last the county for about another eight days.
Deakins said the county is hoping to receive another shipment next week. If it is not able to get a shipment from their regular supplier, Deakins said they will just look elsewhere. The county is $30,000 over its salt budget, about 300 percent. Their next shipment could add another $10,000 to the amount.
Erwin Public Works Supervisor Carroll Mumpower estimates his department has used around 200 to 250 tons of road salt so far this winter. He described the city’s amount of salt on hand as being “very low.”
He said the Erwin Public Works facility, which usually holds between 150 to 175 tons, is housing less than 60 tons. Mumpower said the public works department is looking into ordering more road salt, but in the meantime will take a conservative approach with the remaining amount.
Crews will work main roads, hills and keep roads to Unicoi Memorial Hospital clear, Mumpower said. One more snow, he said, will put a “damper” on the remaining supply of road salt.
Unicoi County Road Superintendent Terry Haynes said the county’s supply of salt also stands at around 60 tons. However, he said around 150 tons has been ordered, and Haynes is hopeful it will arrive this weekend.
Until this shipment arrives, Haynes said the remaining supply will be used on roads located in higher elevations throughout the county and on sloped roadways.
Haynes estimates the county has used about 1,200 tons of salt, significantly more than a typical winter, he said.
Elizabethton and Carter County are also running low on salt.
Danny Hilbert, director of the Elizabethton Street and Sanitation Department, said the city has between 300 and 400 tons of salt left. He said the his department used 300 tons during the current snow storm
The Carter County Highway Department has only 60 to 80 tons, but that doesn’t sound as bad as it seems. “We mix our salt with chat (small rocks),” Supervisor Slim Miller said. “With all the roads we have in the county, we couldn’t afford to go with just salt.”
Both Miller and Hilbert said they have salt on order.
Erwin Bureau Chief Brad Hicks and Elizabethton Bureau Chief John Thompson contributed to this report.