Rock salt shortage impacting Northeast Ohio cities during peak of winter season

in to Cargill Salt Group for more rock salt, they have no idea when it will be delivered.“When this is usually full, it’s like 250 tons — but we also get our salt from Cleveland Heights. They’re limiting everybody. All of the cities and ODOT are getting their salt — just depends on how long it takes to get here,” Pitts said.Communities borrowing salt to meet needsIn a post to social media, Cleveland Heights mentioned that while University Heights borrowed some de-icing salt from them, they also had to borrow 150 tons of salt from another city to cover their needs for the next few days.In many cases, it’s the side streets that could suffer the most. A full-time Lyft driver shared that she’s not salty about the situation, but it has made navigating the roads challenging.“It was actually harder for me to even maneuver and get out of people’s driveways because the roads were just so packed.“We haven’t had that bad a winter for years in Cleveland, so that might have been a reason too,” she mentioned.Supply chain issues compound shortageOne road salt supplier based in New York revealed that, in addition to the high demand for de-icing salt, there are supply chain issues, labor problems, and mine production disruptions due to factors like flooding.“Do you get a lot of calls about residential streets — people upset? You will. But nothing you can do,” Pitts commented.Snow plow drivers simply ask one thing of their customers — to remain patient. “Be patient. That’s all you can do,” Pitts advised.