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West Bend salt supply in great shape

Posted at 12:20 PM, Feb 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-20 13:23:38-05

WEST BEND — While other areas may be struggling with their salt supply, West Bend appears to be in good shape.

"We have about 2,500 ton of salt in our dome right now," said Doug Neumann, the director of Public Works in West Bend. "We have another 5,300 ton down at the bay, waiting for delivery, and another 1,400 ton in reserve."

Neumann said they've used about 3,000 tons of salt so far this year, which is under pace for the typical average of 6,500 tons a season. However, even with this latest round of snow, it's nothing too difficult for them.

"This time of the year we should have all the bugs worked out," Neumann said. "We're prepared, and the crew is ready to go and well rested from the last one."

The same can be said for residents.

"You think you'd get used to it and you kind of do," said Amanda Voelzke of West Bend. "The first snowfall, it doesn't matter how much it is, they're like, oh, my gosh. There's snow. Now they're just sick of it."

"I can remember in the mid-70s, we had piles of it," Scott Sager said. "We had a blizzard. It shut the town down for a week. It was up to your waist and snow drifts 6 to 8 feet deep. That's a snowstorm. Now we're just used to this. Spring is that much closer."

"We're prepared, and the crew is ready to go and well rested from the last one." — Doug Neumann, director of Public Works in West Bend

Crews in West Bend always pre-treat the roads before a snowstorm. So this snowfall, paired with normal traffic, kept the roads pretty clear, causing no delays.