PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Back-to-back winter storms have exhausted Providence’s supply of salt and left Rhode Island’s Department of Transportation with barely enough to handle another storm, officials said Thursday.
The city and state are expecting a large salt shipment early next month; until then, sand is being used to give cars and pedestrians better traction on snow and ice.
Providence ran out of salt on Thursday, following a long stretch of storms that dumped snow and ice on area roads.
The state Department of Transportation had between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of salt left as of Thursday afternoon. The agency goes through 5,000 to 15,000 tons of salt during a typical storm.
Road crews are now using a mix of sand and salt and are prioritizing main intersections and highways like Interstate 95 until resupplies arrive, according to agency spokeswoman Rose Amoros.
“We’re using the salt very judiciously at this point,” she said.
The state DOT has used 126,000 tons of salt to treat snow and ice so far this winter, compared with an average of 85,000 tons in the past five winters.
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