Feb 6, 2008 10:28 pm US/Central
Gurnee Gets Creative In Face Of Salt Shortage
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Barges carrying road salt for Chicago suburbs and other towns in Illinois have been getting stuck in frozen sections of the Illinois river.
CBS
While we're getting pounded with snow, it's the other white stuff – salt -- that some communities wish would fall instead. In fact, in the far north suburbs, they are almost out.
As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, in some sections of Gurnee, it's difficult to tell where someone's yard ends and the street begins.
Another major snowfall combined with a road salt shortage has left streets slippery, treacherous and sometimes near impossible to drive.
"We have vehicles stalled all over the place, stuck up in snow drifts," said Gurnee Police Department Chief Robert Jones. "It's been a lot to contend with."
Gurnee village officials are waiting for their ship to come in.
It's a barge laden with rock salt for the village's slippery streets. Unfortunately, the barge is trapped in an ice pack somewhere on the Illinois River.
In a report to the Village Board this week, Administrator Jim Hayner said the community's winter supply of road salt has reached the critical point, and public works crews are now being forced to cut back on street salting until more salt becomes available.
"Only Mother Nature can determine just when that will be," he said.
With no end in sight to an unusually snowy winter, Hayner said the lack of road salt is a problem for many Lake County communities and presents a serious safety concern.
"We budgeted $140,000 for road salt this year, but have already spent more than $170,000," Hayner told trustees.
Mayor Krysti Kovarik says the village consulted with the National Weather Service about how much to buy. But it wasn't enough and the additional salt recently purchased by Gurnee is now stuck on a barge on an ice-jammed river.
"We have enough money to buy salt," Kovarik said. "It's a supply issue."
To stretch what little is left, Hayner said they will begin mixing sand with salt and spread it only at major intersections and on slippery bridges and sloped roads.
"We just don't have enough to cover our secondary streets, so drivers will need to be aware and drive carefully in this situation," Hayner said.
He said the village plans to use its new emergency reverse telephone and e-mail systems to inform residents of this temporary policy.
To avoid confusion, Hayner also reminded citizens that major thoroughfares, such as Grand Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue (Route 21), are maintained by the county.
But police know the snow and ice-covered roads mean slower response times. So one sergeant offered his snowmobiles for patrol use, just in case.
"I think the biggest need is actually going to be late at night," said Sgt. Fred Witte. "An emergency call at a house, something more serious… that we'll have to get a squad there quickly."
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and the Lake County News-Sun contributed to this report.cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages 
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