Salt usage spikes as snow continues

VANDALIA, Ohio (WDTN) - The plows were parked this morning in Vandalia, but that hasn't been the case for much of the winter.

Already this winter the city's Public Works Department has spread more than 1,200 tons of salt, compared to just 700 tons all of last year.

"We've probably used more than twice as much already as we did last year and we still have another month to go," said Rob Cron, the Vandalia Public Works Manager.

Cron added salt doesn't come cheap. "It can be anywhere from $40 some a ton to up to $70".

Dayton City officials told 2 NEWS they're paying $63 dollars per ton this year and have already used more than 5,800 tons costing the city $395 thousand dollars. Last year, during the same time period only about 2,900 tons were spread at a fraction of the price.
    
In Springfield, so far this winter season, crews have used more than 2,700 hundred tons, compared to about 1,600 last year.

Troy crews have also seen an increase. City officials report they have more than doubled salt usage over last year. At 727 tons currently, compared to 347 last year.

In Kettering, where the snow removal plan was recently revised to include salting side streets, it's no surprise there's also been a spike in usage. City officials told 2 NEWS they've gone from 1,600 tons last year to more than 3,200 so far this snow season.