BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Erie County has signed an emergency contract to boost road salt supplies for the county and most municipalities amid an ongoing shortage.
The Erie County Commissioner of Public Works said he secured 5,000 tons per week, with the option to double that, for the remainder of the winter season. The first shipment could arrive as soon as Friday.
Bill Geary spoke with me from the Port of Buffalo, where the shipments will arrive and where he secured space for the product.
“I’m hopeful,” Geary said when I asked if he believed the additional salt would be enough to last for the rest of the winter season. “But days like today we use a lot more through the night when we have these flash freezes, freezing rains, probably the worst precip that we can ever deal with.”
Municipalities and private customers across New York have been scrambling to find road salt after the main supplier, American Rock Salt in Livingston County, experienced production issues that led to delays.
Geary said Erie County has gone through about 75 percent of the salt it would use during a normal winter, and we’re only a little more than halfway through the season.
"I'm hopeful what we have is enough supply not only for Erie County Highway but for all of our towns and cities if they run into problems still or in the future, we can supply them with salt to make sure all the roadways are treated,” Geary said.
