Rising salt prices could be big hit to road maintenance

Freep.com

Metro Detroit drivers will need to brush up on their wintertime driving skills, as rising salt prices put the hurt on already wounded highway maintenance budgets.
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Road agencies across the state and nation are paying more for road salt this year and, in some cases, planning to use it much more judiciously than in the past. In some parts of the country, prices have tripled, but road officials in metro Detroit said they're largely seeing less severe but still significant increases of $10 or so a ton. That's still a big hike considering cities like Warren can use 10,000 tons in a typical winter and Detroit 30,000 to 45,000 tons.