Kent County Road Commission loads up salt

Kent County Road Commission tucks are loaded with road salt in this 2005 file photograph.

(Delbridge Langdon Jr. | MLive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Like it or not, the snow is coming.

That means getting up early to shovel or snowblow driveways, and long hours for plow truck drivers across the state.

But this year's lower salt prices could mean big savings for the Kent County Road Commission.

In a business so dependent on the weather, any budget expectations are very uncertain, Deputy Managing Director of Operations Jerry Byrne said.

The commission's salt bids for this season came in at $50.40/ton, an about $16 reduction in the per-ton cost compared to last year.

"That's one of the more substantial price fluctuations we've seen in a while," Byrne said. "It's just supply and demand. Last year there wasn't any winter in this part of the country."

The commission has ordered 39,000 tons of salt, a total purchase that would cost nearly $2 million.

But Byrne explained flexibility is built into the contract, allowing a range of 27,300 to 50,700 tons. How much is ultimately purchased will depend on how much is needed.

That means the total cost could range from less than $1.4 million to more than $2.5 million.

Assuming the average annual salt usage of 40-45 thousand tons, the lower prices could compound to mean the road commission spends $620-720 thousand less on salt this year.

Or not.

"There's so many variables with winter," Byrne said.

One big 24-hour "all-forces-out" snowstorm, for example, can cost the road commission $250,000, he said.

Any savings at the end of the winter season, Byrne said, could mean more to spend on projects during the 2017 construction season.

"If winter is light, like it was last year, that gives us more money to stick into surface repairs," he said.

But the unpredictable nature of the business, Byrne said, means the commission doesn't start assessing those potential savings until early spring.

Last year's light winter also means the road commission still has about 20,000 tons of last year's road salt on hand.

"We always keep our sheds full through the middle part of January or the first part of February before we start to look at it," Byrne said.

Together with smaller purchases of liquid chloride, calcium chloride and sand used to treat icy roadways in Kent County, salt purchases represent about 40 percent of the commission's winter maintenance budget, he said.

Though the $16/ton change was one of the largest year-over-year changes the road commission has seen in recent history, Byrne said fluctuating salt prices is nothing new.

The per-ton price paid by the commission has risen steadily from $38/ton in 2007 and has been as low was $24.67 over the last 15 years. This year's price is the lowest since 2008, when the road commission paid $45/ton.

As crews prepare for the winter weather, Byrne reminds riders to keep an eye out for green flashing lights on Kent County roadways.

The road commission recently joined many road agencies across the state in adding green strobe lights to the traditional amber lights mounted on its trucks. The lights are meant to improve visibility of the trucks, particularly in fog and snow.