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Overcast The cost of clearing the roads is rising
Getting rid of snow is an expensive proposition, and the price is rising. Cleaning the roads after a storm requires salt, sand, vehicles to spread them and then plow the snow, and manpower.
The Nassau County Department of Public Works used 3,000 tons of salt and 500 tons of sand, at a cost of $210,000, during the blizzard of Jan. 26-27, according to county spokeswoman Mary Studdert. Approximately 220 county employees took part in the snow-removal efforts, and more than 100 vehicles were involved in the salting, sanding and plowing. Additional personnel operated snow blowers, salt spreaders and shovels. Due to the duration of the storm, the snow-removal effort filled approximately 5,000 man-hours.
The Village of Island Park, according to Mayor Michael McGinty, pays approximately $85 a ton for sand and salt, which is purchased from two local suppliers, Liotta and Sons Inc., in Island Park, and Stony Creek Services Inc., in Oceanside. McGinty said he prefers to buy village supplies locally, not only to support local businesses, but to keep the cost down by minimizing the expense of shipping. The mayor said he was concerned because he had heard that salt and sand prices were rising.
Patrick Liotta, of Liotta and Sons, said that cost is simply a function of supply and demand, and that he buys salt and sand from Atlantic Salt in Massachusetts. He had not heard about any shortages, but agreed that freight costs figure prominently, and noted that gas prices are on the rise.
According to Town of Hempstead spokeswoman Susie Trenkle-Pokalsky, the town budgeted $2.4 million for salt and sand this year. The average volume used in a typical storm is 4,000 to 5,000 tons, but for the blizzard, Trenkle said, the town used between 8,000 and 10,000 tons. The town pays about $67.15 a ton, she said, about $10 more per ton than last year.
