More sand used this year on P.E.I. roads

Road crews have been using more sand than usual this winter, officials with P.E.I.'s Department of Transportation say.

Many freeze and thaw weather events throughout the fall and winter as well as colder temperatures are to blame, they say.

"When we get this many events and we get them back to back it does hit our materials hard, so it's something that we're keeping an eye on," said Stephen Szwarc, the acting director for the province's highway maintenance division.

The department has had to buy additional sand to restock its piles across the province. Usually the department uses 85,000 to 100,000 tonnes of sand per year, and Szwarc estimates this year it will use 90,000 to 100,000 tonnes.

He said it's too soon to say exactly what the effect will be on the budget. "I would suspect we will be high." He said the department usually spends about $2 million annually on sand.

"We're putting down material and then we're seeing it blow off the road so we're having to go back out," he said. "We're also seeing that where we put down material and we get a quick thaw so the material is gone, it's washed off the roads and we have to go out to reapply."

Salt and brine use is on par with other years, Szwarc noted.

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