CLEVELAND — The City of Cleveland is increasing its road salt supply and expanding storage capacity ahead of winter, following a shortage last year that left many residential streets unsalted for extended periods.
Supply chain issues with Cargill delayed salt deliveries to Cleveland and several other cities last winter. By the end of January, Cleveland reported it had fewer than 10,000 tons of salt on hand. The shortage forced city crews to focus salting efforts on main roads and hills, bypassing many residential streets.
The Cargill Cleveland Mine's service operations manager told News 5 in January that the mine saw a 30% to 40% increase in demand for salt last winter. That surge in demand left cities across Northeast Ohio waiting months for deliveries.
Tyler Sinclair, a spokesperson for the city of Cleveland, said the shortage drew frustration from residents.
"We then have to make adjustments to our operations, meaning we can't get to residentials as frequently as we like" he said. "Then, we hear it from our residents, and we've expressed and emphasize and share that same exact frustration."
To prevent a repeat, the city has increased funding to purchase and store more road salt. Cleveland is placing an order for an additional 14,000 tons of salt for this winter. The city already has 16,000 tons on hand, bringing the total to 30,000 tons.
Sinclair said the city is focused on what it can control.
"We can't control the weather, we can't control how quickly our vendors get stuff to us," he said. "But, what we can control is storage capacity and being able to prepare."
To store the additional supply, the city has purchased four refurbished salt domes and one brand new dome. Each dome can hold at least 3,000 tons of salt.
Salt prices have also been affected by inflation. Sinclair said the city has room in the budget to absorb any price increases to ensure it can purchase the salt needed to keep roads safe this winter.
