© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Maine Towns Take Stock Of Salt, Sand As Blizzard Hits

With each winter storm, municipalities must respond with plow-hours, salt and sand, and try not to run out of those resources before spring. So far, towns are reporting that they’re “mostly” on budget.

“We’re probably 25-30 percent expended on salt. And about 20 percent expended on overtime,” says Eric Dudley, director of engineering & public service for Westbrook.

Barring unforeseen events late in the winter, he says that’s about right for the eight weather events dealt with so far. Dudley says the department plans for an average of 21 storms per season, which can be anything from a couple inches of snow to an ice storm or a blizzard.

In Houlton, officials say that some unexpected ice events this fall ate into the town’s sand stores a bit more than expected.

“We’re probably at about 40 percent right now that we’ve used, so we’re lacking that a little, but we’ll be all right,” says Chris Stewart, Houlton’s public works director.

Stewart says if the town runs out of sand, they’ll buy from local contractors, but it will have to come out of the 2018 budget.

In Millinocket, public works director Ralph Soucier says they’ve also used more sand than average — the budget is about 30% expended — but the town also keeps a reserve pile. He also says colder-than-average temperatures mean the town has had to put down a bit more road salt than usual to try and melt icy surfaces.