Mass. towns may reduce road salt intake

It might be a good thing if higher gasoline prices keep people from driving this winter, since higher prices for road salt might make the streets a little sloppier. Mike Stucka reports in the Salem News:

The cost for road salt is going up — dramatically. A Boxford-based consortium that buys salt for several local towns is facing a 30 percent price increase — from $48.90 a ton last year to $63.83 this year.

Ipswich, which is part of the consortium, expects to spend an extra $100,000 on salt, so it may leave roads a little slushier and stop clearing private ways, something it does now to let firetrucks and ambulances through.