MnDot's Salt Deliveries Signal That Winter Prep Has Begun

As Minnesota sweats into its hottest months of the year, it’s time for road salt deliveries at the Minnesota Department of Transportation as the agency begins to focus on preparations for next winter.

Semi tractor-trailers have been delivering road salt this week to MnDOT’s 23 truck stations across the 11 counties in southeastern Minnesota’s District 6.

At Rochester’s truck station, crews expect 650 tons to be delivered. Deliveries are expected to continue in the weeks ahead as the trucks bring the salt from barges in Winona to the MnDOT facilities in southeastern Minnesota.

The delivery of road salt to MnDOT is part of the long-term planning that goes into being prepared for the snow and ice season.

Summer is a good time to deliver salt because it is dry and can be moved efficiently to storage areas at each MnDOT truck station. Minnesota's road salt comes from mines in Michigan, Missouri, and Kansas.

On average, MnDOT District 6 uses 36,974 tons of road salt in a winter.

Once the salt is delivered, a sample of each truckload is tested by MnDOT’s District 6 materials lab for moisture, size and impurities to ensure its quality. The lab will test 1,500 to 2,000 salt samples this season.

Image via Minnesota Department of Transportation