Think it's too early to start talking about winter? It's 115 days away, so why talk about it on such a beautiful sunny day? Well, MnDOT's been thinking about it because the salt trucks have begun to arrive! I just happened to see MnDOT's Cindy Morgan's video on Instagram and bam.

Too soon, right? Cindy says the deliveries started a few weeks ago and they're only 1/4 - 1/3 full. How long will it take to fill? She says another month or two. So, here it is, a beautiful summer day, but with winter hitting us upside the head. PS  - Notice the person in shorts next to the pile!

VIDEO COURTESY CINDY MORGAN, MnDOT'S REGION SIX PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT GURU

Of course, it's bad news because it means winter is coming too soon. But it's good news because MnDOT is dedicated to keeping us safe.

According to MnDOT's website, a couple of years ago, the numbers looked like this...

1. Road salt – 35,529 tons (current average price is approximately $57 per ton)
2. Sand – 18,509 tons (current average price is approximately $7 per ton)
3. Liquid magnesium chloride – 20,857 gallons (current price is approximately $1.20 per gallon)
4. Salt brine – 319,366 gallons (D1 makes salt brine in-house by mixing water and salt)
5. Liquid calcium chloride – 14,270 gallons
6. Salt brine additive (beet juice) – 1,873 gallons
7. Potassium acetate – 4,139 gallons

Work it all out and the average per-lane-mile cost for snow and ice maintenance was $3,503. Why so much? Well, they maintain 1,600 miles of state highways and 589 bridges. And remember, that's not just one lane all the way...you have to figure every lane as it's own since you gotta cover it that way.

So, Happy August!

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