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Colts Neck says storm cleanup used 200+ tons of salt; town to pick up county reserve
Summary
Town officials said pre-storm brining and continuous plowing used more than 200 tons of salt and left a 100-ton reserve; county pledged additional salt and the township will pick it up Friday. Officials urged caution and described warming stations and coordination with emergency services.
Colts Neck Township officials on Jan. 28 said a multi-agency response to a recent winter storm exhausted much of the town''s road salt stockpile and left crews focusing on critical hot spots.
Township Administrator Kathleen said the municipality pre-treated 30 to 35 miles of roads and, together with contractor Slowbrook and the Department of Public Works, ran a roughly 30—35-hour response that included initial plowing, brining and targeted salting. "We used most of it. So, we are down to about a 100 tons. We used about 200 plus tons during the storm," Kathleen said.
The administrator said the township held a pre-storm coordination meeting led by OEM coordinator Tyler Barakco with representatives from public works, police, fire and the first-aid squad to ensure staffing, fuel and equipment readiness and to stand up warming stations if needed. She said no widespread power outages or major injuries were reported.
County shared-service access to salt was temporarily limited during the event; county officials later told the mayor that salt would be made available to participating municipalities. "We will be picking up salt on Friday," Kathleen said, describing that outreach and the plan to deploy the remaining reserve to high-priority spots.
Officials warned that extremely low temperatures reduce salt effectiveness. The administrator said the town will continue targeted salting where it can have effect and will prioritize bus stops, hills and intersections. Residents at public comment described icy conditions on Chestnut Drive and asked for localized scraping; the township said crews will re-inspect trouble spots and coordinate with the director of public works.
The township also acknowledged logistical strain: high demand for commercial salt supplies and delivery challenges limited contractor access during the storm. The administrator thanked first responders, DPW personnel and the contractor for their work and said the town will report on further changes to salt inventories and operational plans.
Next steps: the township will collect county-provided salt on Friday, continue targeted plowing and salting, and share updates through its website notification system and social channels.
