The Brighton Department of Public Works has had a busy winter, with plowing and salting up from last year, and more than in an average season, due to a snowy and cold winter. However, DPW Director Marcel Goch says the department has more than enough salt stored at the DPW salt storage site to handle whatever comes along. Goch adds there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of salt supplies if the city needs to purchase more this winter, which is good news for motorists.

Michigan uses more road salt than most states — about 13 tons per lane mile, although that pales in comparison to the New England states. Massachusetts uses over 19 tons of salt per lane mile, for instance. Winter road maintenance, whether salting, plowing, or other seasonal road-related chores, takes up 20 percent of state department of transportation maintenance budgets nationally, according to the Federal Highway Administration. And state and local agencies each year spend more than $2.3 billion nationwide on snow and ice control operations. (TT)