VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Limited rock salt supply raises safety concerns for Syracuse residents
Maria Wainscott: It’s a winter morning, you’re running late, and the roads and sidewalks are slick. You try to be careful, but sometimes accidents are unavoidable. With a rock salt shortage, winter travel is even riskier, and for some, the consequences have been far worse than just a close call.
Joe Zhao: I was on the way to a Daily Orange assignment, around Walnut Place, I was on my bike and then got hit by a car.
Wainscott: In the Salt City, there’s not enough salt. The rock salt shortage is making it harder to keep sidewalks and roads safe during an already challenging winter. One student, Joe Zhao, knows this struggle all too well. Injured in a winter collision, Zhao is now recovering from surgery. Sidewalks without salt make every step uncertain.
Zhao: Because of the cold weather sometimes there will be ice on the road. It’s really hard to like to get around, especially on the ice. But I got this one for my crutch. Makes my life a little bit easier.
Wainscott: The Syracuse Department of Public Works is finding ways to handle the shortage while continuing to serve the community.
Sol Muñoz: It does make us need to manage our resources more efficiently and ensure that we are not wasting salt and just making sure that, because these deliveries are smaller, that we’re using it where it needs to be used.
According to American Rock Salt, they’ve shipped more salt in early 2025 than all of last winter, but supply remains tight. Crews are putting in extra hours, but residents need to do their part too.
Muñoz (public information officer for infrastructure): Check the snowplow map. Make sure that we’ve been on your street. If for whatever reason, you see that we haven’t passed by your street, go on the map. See if there’s an illegally parked car. Let your neighbors know to move their cars so the snowplows can get through.
Wainscott: For residents like Joe Zhao, the shortage has made the winter even harder, but together, the city and the community can get through these icy conditions one step at a time. Reporting in Syracuse for NCC News, I’m Maria Wainscott.
Key Points:
- Syracuse is facing a rock salt shortage, leading to more hazardous road and sidewalk conditions.
- The Department of Public Works is prioritizing high-traffic areas and adjusting snow removal schedules due to the shortage.
- Residents with injuries or disabilities, including students, are among those most affected by untreated sidewalks and roads.
- American Rock Salt has shipped over 2.1 million tons of salt this winter—more than the 1.8 million tons shipped during all of last winter—but demand still exceeds supply.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — It was a typical winter morning for Syracuse University student Joe Zhao — until his commute to the Daily Orange took an unexpected turn.
“I was on my bike and then got hit by a car. Then I got on the SU ambulance and they took me to the Upstate University Hospital. I stayed in the emergency room for a night and then they did the surgery the day after that,” Zhao said.
Zhao was left with several broken bones, including a fractured femur, and a concussion. He now has to use a crutch to get around. But with icy sidewalks made worse by a rock salt shortage, every step has become a challenge.
“Oh yeah, definitely, especially those kind of snowing and raining days, and because of the cold weather, sometimes there will be, like, ice on the road. It’s really hard to, like, get around, especially on the ice. But I got this—my crutch, making my life a little bit easier,” Zhao said.
The rock salt shortage has hit Syracuse hard this winter, making road and sidewalk maintenance more difficult than usual. According to American Rock Salt, the nation’s largest salt producer, it has shipped over 2.1 million tons of salt this winter alone, surpassing last year’s total of 1.8. Still, demand is high, and supply is limited.
“American Rock Salt has been working diligently to meet the demand from local government customers across New York State for salt supply,” the company said in a statement.
The Syracuse Department of Public Works is feeling the strain. Public information officer for infrastructure Sol Muñoz explained how the department is handling the shortage.
“We hope that the delays will slow down and that we will be able to get what we are ordering every time, but we will manage with what we have to do, because we have to ensure that our residents can get to work and school safely,” Muñoz said.
Crews have been working long hours to keep up with the snow, often pulling 12-hour shifts when major storms hit.
“They work usually when it’s a bigger snowstorm, and we know that we’re about to get hit with lake effect snow or things like that. They work seven to seven, so they will work 12-hour shifts that they have to, but they know what they’re signing up for,” Muñoz added.
To make the most of its resources, the Department of Public Works is prioritizing high-traffic areas and adjusting plow schedules based on weather conditions.
“We’re really taking a look at the weather, making sure that we’re using the right treatments for the type of storm that we’re getting,” Muñoz said.
The City of Syracuse’s salt barn © 2025 Maria Wainscott
Residents are also being asked to do their part.
“I think the most important things for residents to do is make sure their sidewalks are getting shoveled. Although we have a supplemental sidewalk snow removal program, it’s important that it doesn’t absolve property owners from clearing their sidewalks. Make sure you’re parking legally so that the plows can get through,” Muñoz said.
For residents, like Zhao, with disabilities or injuries, the shortage has made an already difficult winter even harder. Muñoz also recommended residents use the City Snow Plow Map and the Sidewalk Snow Plow Map to stay informed about which areas have been cleared and plan safer routes. According to city officials, efforts to manage the salt supply will continue throughout the remainder of the winter season.