Ships bring eagerly awaited salt to Wisconsin

The Algosteel unloads it's cargo of road salt at the Port of Milwaukee today.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Algosteel unloads it's cargo of road salt at the Port of Milwaukee today.

MILWAUKEE  — Two ships carrying 50,000 tons of salt have arrived in Wisconsin, where some communities have started mixing sand with salt to stretch their supplies.

The city of Milwaukee had used 62,000 tons of salt before two storms that hit Saturday and today. That’s already 5,000 tons more than it uses in a typical winter.

Cities nationwide have been running low on salt with snowstorms hitting early and often this winter.

The public works director in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Fred Abadi, says many communities that order salt through the state Department of Transportation have received less than full deliveries as suppliers try to make sure every area has some salt.

The salt shipment that arrived today at the Port of Milwaukee will be distributed throughout the state.