A passionate discussion took place at Moncton City Council over road salt, with some Councillors expressing frustration over what seem like unusually icy roads this winter.
Public Works Director Don Morehouse says they switched salt suppliers this year, and operators report it appears to be less effective than previous salt.
He adds they bought some new salt from a mine in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, and are comparing the two.
“Right now, the salt that’s going on the road is the Pugwash salt, which is basically the same salt that actually Dieppe is using themselves and having good success with,” says Morehouse. “So we’re not saying the salt is bad, we are just saying we want to make sure we understand what’s the difference if there is any.”
Morehouse adds they’ve been noticing a trend over the last few years of needing to use less salt each winter, largely because of new technologies and techniques.
Those include brine production and anti-icing programs, which Morehouse says led them to being comfortable recommending a 10% reduction in the salt budget for this year.
He says that reduction is not resulting in any drop in service levels, adding public safety would not be sacrificed for a budget.
“We have to also budget in realistic terms, we don’t want to overbudget because then we’re not really allocating our funds to where they need to go,” says Morehouse.
Morehouse added they aim to keep 5,000 to 6,000 tons of salt on hand, but he says with the closure of the PotashCorp mine in Sussex, they had to find a new source of salt, which led them to Windsor Salt, which is the supplier for the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Morehouse says they piggy backed on that supply deal, which has salt shipped in to the Port of Saint John from the Magdalen Islands.
In the wake of concerns over the Windsor salt, they bought 800 tons from a mine in Pugwash, Nova Scotia.
Councillor Charles Leger says he has never heard from more residents on a subject than he did in recent weeks over the condition of city streets, adding if it is a matter of equipment, the City should buy what’s needed.
Councillor Bryan Butler went further saying they need to do better, adding he’d like to “take the opportunity to apologize to taxpayers for what happened.”
