Massachusetts Paying More For Road Salt

BOSTON (CBS) -- It's costing the state a lot more to salt the roads this winter.

MassDOT spokesman Mike Verseckes says they're paying a hefty sum for salt compared to last year.

"It was in the roughly $50 range, now we're up in the $70 to $71 range per ton of salt," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

That's a 36 percent increase over last year. The reason is simple supply and demand, MassDOT says.

"You have states like Massachusetts and other states that get snow on an annual basis restocking salt each year," Verseckes said. "You also have states that have some salt in the past that haven't bought it in a while, and some that had nothing that needed salt in a hurry."

Massachusetts has about 350,000 tons of salt on hand, close to full capacity. Last winter, crews dropped about 500,000 tons of salt on Bay State roads.

"In the Boston area, we've been pretty lucky so far," Verseckes said. "It's going to depend on how much snow we get."

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Garo Hagopian reports:

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