PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh city officials received a much-anticipated salt delivery Monday, just before another round of snow.
Mayor Bill Peduto said that crews had to ration what salt they had left by using a mixture of sand and salt over the weekend.
Regional snowstorms have depleted salt supplies for municipalities and the state. Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported using 926,000 tons of salt this season, compared to 748,000 tons, on average, in recent years.
Meantime, in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, officials are again asking drivers to stay off the roads starting until 1 p.m. Tuesday.
“This is my 25th year in Public Works, and I have never seen it this bad since 1977, 1994…, but not like this. This may go down as one of the worst winters in western Pennsylvania history,” Pittsburgh Public Works Operations Chief Guy Costa said.
The township received an emergency shipment of salt last week, but most of that has been used.
Last week officials declared an emergency disaster due to a lack of salt.
On Monday night, Channel 11’s Pamela Osborne reported that Fox Chapel in Allegheny County is also in need of salt. Officials have placed an order, but it has not arrived yet.