Patience and road salt supplies are wearing thin as a seemingly never ending winter continues its drain on local resources.
Road crews are reporting increased rock salt usage this season — and in some cases supply shortages.
In Lewis Run Borough, officials were forced to purchase 25 tons of additional road salt this week after running low. They attribute the shortage to regular snowfall, record cold and a near constant need for winter road maintenance.
Meanwhile, the City of Bradford had to order additional salt for the first time in three years, according to public works and recreation director Chip Comilla.
The city is not alone. On Wednesday, Foster Township road foreman Chad Babcock finished placing an order for another 50 tons of rock salt — the township has ordered 450 tons of road salt so far this year, exceeding last year’s total usage by 30 percent.
“We’re dealing with nuisance snow — what’s killing us is an inch here, a half-inch there, which makes the road slippery and needs salted. That nuisance snow is killing our salt supply, not heavy snow,” Babcock said.
While township salt supplies remain stocked, Babcock said the township’s rock salt supplier is experiencing a shortage and is no longer accepting new customers.
Babcock said contract prices locked in ahead of time can protect municipalities, like his, against price gouging.
In some cases, the inclement weather has kept new salt supplies from reaching communities in need.
In neighboring Elk County, St. Marys city manager Dave Greene said the volume of emergency salt orders through state vendors could take up to two weeks to fill, with the lag time leading some municipalities to seek alternative sources.
“If you wait two weeks you’ll probably have to ask the state or another municipality to (sell or) loan you salt,” Greene said. “Nobody has asked us (St. Marys) for any so far.”
Greene said the city’s supply remains adequate.
Officials said road budgets are also being sapped by overtime wages for crew members.
In addition to plowing and anti-skid treatments, road crews in many places have been busy patching roads now riddled with potholes left there by the winter’s dramatic temperature swings.
Bradford City road crew members have worked a number of 18 hour days this season, according to Jim Copeland of the city’s Department of Public Works.
“It’s wearing thin on us,” Copeland said. “I can’t wait until the end of winter.”
It was a sentiment echoed by local road crew members and residents.
On behalf of the Foster Township road crew, Babcock said, “It (end of winter) can’t come soon enough.”
