950 tons of salt used against snow and ice

The heavy snowfall and the freezing temperatures present challenges for the winter service – is the stock of salt sufficient?

The winter months of 2020/21 have brought freezing temperatures and heaps of snow and ice to our roads. The winter services are busy day and night clearing roads and sidewalks, while snow has continued to fall. Massive amounts of salt have been applied to the snow and ice, but does the canton of Zug have sufficient reserves for stubborn winter days? Construction director Florian Weber can answer this question with "yes". "The storage capacity of the Steinhausen and Nidfuren workshops totals 2,100 tons," says Weber. "Up to now, 950 tons of salt have been scattered in the winter of 2020/21. This means that the canton of Zug has sufficient salt reserves." In addition, it is also possible to buy salt from the Swiss salt works in the winter.
 

Clearing operation around the clock
Nevertheless, more days of heavy snowfall, such as those we have seen in the last week, would be a challenge for the staff of the winter service. "In the event of prolonged snowfall, the contracted winter service companies and the cantonal road maintenance service work around the clock in two shifts," reports the construction director, “This is very stressful for the employees and leads to large numbers of hours being worked."

The Zug public works department has its hands full with clearing snow. Rene Müller moves the road salt from the store into the blower container, which blows the salt into the silo that then fills the salting trucks.
Photo: Christian H. Hildebrand (Cham, 18 January 2021)

On average, 1,300 tons of salt are scattered on the Zug cantonal roads per year. The amount of salt scattered in 2020 was below average, at 800 tonnes, says Florian Weber. It’s not possible to estimate how the consumption of salt will develop in the current year. "The decisive factor is how long the wintry conditions last, and/or how long salt needs to be used during the winter," explains the construction director.

Rising demand for salt
The impact of the wintry conditions is also noticeable In the commercial sector. The Managing Director of the ‘Landi’ branch in Hünenberg, Markus Zürcher, speaks of an extreme increase in the demand for salt. "We are definitely selling more salt this year than in recent years," he says. "We hardly had a real winter last year and the year before." The last week on particular has led to a record increase in demand. "After last Thursday, we sold 170 tons of salt within three days," says Markus Zürcher. The Landi Hünenberg has still been able to cover the above-average demand for de-icing salt from its stock, but a re-order of salt was now inevitable.