Piscataway digs out from storm as salt supply remains a concern
Wahler said Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office is advising municipalities to go to the port, but when trucks arrive they are limited to two loads or sometimes receive nothing.
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Piscataway continued cleanup efforts Monday following this weekend's winter storm, as the township faces ongoing challenges securing enough road salt ahead of another potential storm.
Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler has warned in recent weeks that salt supplies have been strained, both for his town, as well as others, citing delays and limits at the Port of Newark. The port is where many municipalities source material.
Speaking Monday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the state has plenty of salt reserves available.
“We have 250,000 metric tons on hand, we have another 125,000 metric tons inbound,” Sherrill said.
Whaler told News 12 the town’s supplies were significantly depleted following the storm, with about 500 tons of a cold-weather salt blend remaining. Wahler said the issue is not availability at the port, but access.
“When the trucks go up there, they’re only saying two loads per truck and/or we’re not distributing at all,” Wahler said. “And the concern is with the impending storm for next week and the deep freeze this week, we may have streets that may not see asphalt for another two weeks.”
Despite the shortage, township public works crews continued to clear what they could.
“We have a lot of our front loaders and backhoes out at key intersections, pushing the snow up as high as they can to allow for another large accumulation,” Wahler said.
As of Monday, main roads throughout Piscataway were mostly cleared off, while some side streets remained icy and rough.
