12,000 Tons Of Chilean Salt: Boston Begins Stockpiling For Another Winter

Boston just had its first September heat wave in three decades, but Thursday morning brought a sign that colder weather will return.

The city received its first shipment of salt in preparation for winter.

Daniel Nee, with Boston's Department of Public Works, told WBUR's Newscast Unit that he hopes to get 12,000 tons of salt by Monday. On Thursday morning, the first shipment contained a 3,000-ton salt load.

"The stuff I'm looking at, being delivered right now, comes from Chile. It has a little reddish hue to it from the clay they mine the salt from," he said.

Nee said the city uses 80,000 tons of salt in an average winter. Last winter, Boston used 110,000 tons.

Snow and ice removal costs statewide came in around $22 million over expected budget, after a total of 600,000 tons of salt was dumped onto streets over the course of a relentlessly snowy winter.