With Farmer’s Almanac Predicting Another Tough Winter – Salt Deliveries Have Begun

In spite of the fact that we have yet to officially move into the fall months, Boston Public Works are not wasting any time in their preparations for the winter to come. Starting on Thursday the city will begin welcoming new truckloads of salt to the Public Works site located on Frontage Road. The shipment arriving on Thursday will be the first of many as Boston prepares to brace themselves for another winter projected to mirror the brutal one it faced last year.

According to reports, the Public Works facility on Frontage Road received approximately 3,000 tons of salt from large dump trucks and is scheduled to receive an additional 9,000 tons of salt next week. Other facilities in surrounding cities had already begun to equip themselves with the necessary road salt they will need ahead of this forthcoming winter season.

The Farmer’s Almanac, popular for providing a longstanding tradition of projecting weather patterns for the upcoming seasons, has predicted that the Boston region should expect “above-average” snowfall this winter…again. Last year, areas of Massachusetts reached record setting numbers when they amassed over 110.6 inches of snow. The DPW supervisor for Boston, Daniel Nee, said he and his employees are still reeling from the lengthy workdays they experienced last year. He went on to say that between February and March of this last winter season, he worked 72 days straight. “Everyone was going 24/7, there was no rest.” Reports indicate that removal crews extracted roughly 40,000 truckloads worth of snow last year. Due to the impending Almanac prediction, public workers in the region are not taking their chances and are taking all necessary precautions.

Newscasters reporting from the scene on Frontage Road are in equal disbelief that winter preparations are starting so early this year. Boston has just finished another record setting feat this week—reaching the hottest temperatures for September on recent records. When everyone is running around the city in shorts and flip-flops, it’s hard to believe that winter will be blowing in across the land in just a few short months.  WBZ reporter Karen Twomey tweeted a picture of the growing salt pile on her Twitter account earlier this morning. The pile, while relatively small, will grow to about twice its size following the additional salt deposits in the upcoming weeks to follow.

Some reports have indicated that the vast shipment of salt that arrived today has made its way into the city from Chile. The salt will contain a red hue which will make it appear vaguely pink—it’s a direct result from the salt being mined from clay in the Chilean area. DPW supervisor Daniel Nee has stated that on average the city uses approximately 80,000 tons of salt per winter. Last year, however, Nee and company used over 110,000 tons of salt to combat the winter freeze. He went on to say that the removal costs went $22 million over the intended budget. The hope in bringing all this Chilean salt in early is that maybe this year the public works employees will be at an advantage over their earthly counterparts.

Additional information and quotes may be found at the following links: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/09/10/boston-salt-delivery-winter/

http://patch.com/massachusetts/jamaicaplain/boston-begins-preparations-possible-wicked-winter

http://www.wbur.org/2015/09/10/boston-winter-salt-stock-begins

Contact Information