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Woodbury officials warn winter road supplies nearing exhaustion after heavy storms
Summary
First Selectman Paul Zulpa told the Board of Selectmen the town has used about 1,100 tons of salt and 1,800 tons of sand this winter against budgets of 2,000 tons each, and that equipment failures and staffing shortages slowed clearing during the Jan. 17 storm.
WOODBURY, Conn. — Town officials warned Jan. 27 that Woodbury may exhaust its salt and sand supplies before winter ends after a season of frequent storms.
First Selectman Paul Zulpa told the Board of Selectmen that December produced 15 weather incidents totaling 20.7 inches of snow and January added 10 incidents totaling 27.25 inches, putting the season at nearly 48 inches. He said the town has used roughly 1,100 tons of salt and 1,800 tons of sand against budgeted levels of 2,000 tons each.
Zulpa described operational setbacks during a Jan. 17 storm: one 10-wheeler was already under maintenance and a second suffered a snapped sander chain that damaged the hydraulics, leaving it out of service for several hours; the crew also was short three staff members. "They did an outstanding job keeping our roads safe and passable under challenging conditions," Zulpa said, while noting some residents filed complaints about clearing timeliness.
Zulpa also raised a detour concern tied to the Hesseky Bridge project; increased traffic was routed onto narrow Bear Run and residents asked whether the detour could be lifted after work hours. Zulpa said he asked Sgt. Costella and Public Works to reach out to their contacts about lifting the detour after hours.
The comments underscore potential budget and operational pressures as the town proceeds through the remainder of winter.
