In a typical New Jersey winter over the last decade, the state Department of Transportation dumps 300,000 tons of rock salt and 1.7 million gallons of brine on its roads and bridges, and it has to eventually go somewhere.
With supplies of road salt almost completely used up after the snow and sleet that fell earlier this week, the New Jersey Department of Transportation got some very welcome news Wednesday -- a huge shipment of salt is arriving at Port Newark from South America.
New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone has joined U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker in calling on federal officials to grant a waiver of the Jones Act -- which would allow a foreign vessel to pick up a huge load of rock salt at a port in Maine and deliver it to the Garden State.
Ocean County has enough road salt stored to keep the roads clear for two more snow events, says a top county official. They're shopping for more, but they're in the same hunt as officials throughout the state who have been overwhelmed by this year's storm activity.