With summer and hot temperatures fast approaching, it is just the right time to prepare for snow and ice-covered roads.
Indiana Township recently expanded its salt shed to near double capacity.
The original shed was constructed in 1964 and consisted of three bays, each 32 feet wide by 40 feet deep and 16 feet tall.
Supervisors last year awarded a near $391,000 contract to Pampena Construction to create two additional bays, each 32 feet wide, 40 feet deep and 20 feet high. The old shed would be refurbished as well.
“These new bays were constructed an additional four feet higher to accommodate the new, larger front-end loaders,” township engineer Dan Slagle said.
The expansion began in October and the bulk of the work was completed this month. A few minor punch list items remain.
A separate paving project to turn the gravel lot between the public works building and the salt shed into asphalt is expected to be done in the fall.
Township public works superintendent Larry Smith said the expansion was necessary to prevent shortages in the event of a severe winter. He also cited supply chain issues suffered in recent years.
“You have trouble getting salt in the wintertime now,” Smith said. “You see it on the news, townships are out of salt. You need more storage. It takes two to three weeks to get a load of salt now. It used to take three days to get an order.”
Smith said he could not recall the last time the township was out of salt and could not treat roads.
“We’ve come close (to being out),” he said. “We’ve come close this year and came close three years ago because of supply issues. … We’ll have the buildings full before we get into winter.”
The original shed stored about 1,300 tons of salt. The expanded area can hold 1,100 tons for a total of about 2,400 tons.
There are seven public works employees, including Smith.
The township has about 70 miles of roadway to maintain, which includes 40 miles of township roads and 30 miles of state and Allegheny County roads. It also has a little more than six miles of dirt roads.
Smith said it takes about 70 tons of salt to make one full round of road treatment.
“It varies due to conditions,” Smith said.
The township has a cooperative agreement with the state and county to perform winter maintenance.
There are about 7,500 township residents, according to the 2020 census.
Township manager Dan Anderson said salt is purchased from two suppliers each year, American Rock Salt Co. and Morton.
The American Rock Salt contract is through the state purchasing program COSTARS.
The other is through the North Hills Council of Governments.
“The state contract we sometimes realize a better price, but the delivery time isn’t required to be as quick as it is with our North Hills COG contract,” Anderson said. “We use that at the times that we are in need of the salt in a shorter period of time.”
American Rock Salt deliveries can take two weeks or longer under the COSTARS contract, while Morton may deliver within a few days, according to Anderson.
“We have times during the winter when the salt supplies are running low,” Anderson said. “That increased storage capacity can be very important.”
As far as tonnage, about 1,750 tons of salt is acquired through COSTARS and about 750 tons are purchased through the COG contract.
Estimated salt amounts for the coming season were submitted in March. New contracts are expected to be discussed in the next month or two.
Projected costs for salt were not available at presstime. The average salt purchase is $84 per ton.
The township budgeted $250,000 for salt this coming season.