WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-MetroSource) -- It’s a sign of how bad this winter has become. Many stores across the state say they’re out of rock salt and ice melt.
The shortages are widespread in the Milwaukee area. Ace Hardware in Waukesha say they're selling out bags of salt and ice melt as soon as they get them. Many stores say they’re out, and don’t know when they’ll be re-stocked.
Woodman’s Market in Madison said they’re limiting purchases to one bag per customer. True Value said they received four pallets of rock salt and sold out in less than a day. Others say would be customers have been calling their stores, only the find the ice melt is sold out by the time they arrive.
City and county highway departments are also monitoring how much road salt they have on-hand. Many municipalities are using a water and brine mixture that keeps snow from adhering to the road. But it can’t be used in extreme cold, which has been draining the road salt supply. It’s prohibitively expensive for communities that have to buy more road salt late in the winter. Most rock salt is purchased under contract during the summer months. Supply-and-demand tends to drive the price much higher during the winter.
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