City Installing New Salt Shed

Painesville’s Public Works Department will be utilizing a new city salt storage facility come fall 2021. The former salt shed, located at 459 Storrs Street next to the Public Works Garage, was deemed beyond repair earlier this spring after over 35 years of use. The proposed new salt facility will be constructed behind the Painesville Electric Plant off 325 Richmond Street.

 

At the May 3 City Council meeting, Painesville City Council approved a resolution to enter into a contract with Accel Building Systems for the construction of the new salt storage facility which is capable of holding up to 2,000 tons of salt. The welded truss structure will be 60-foot by 90-foot in size and built on an 8 inch concrete floor. The white fabric cover is made of a tear resistant high density polyethylene and is similar to the salt domes being installed in many Ohio municipalities, including Madison Township in 2019.

 

“Our current salt shed is long beyond its life expectancy and is unrepairable at this point,” said Ryan Tiedman, Director of Painesville Public Works. “The new storage facility will allow us to store significantly more salt. It will also be more efficient because the orientation of the facility will better protect the salt from the elements, which means less runoff and wind erosion.”

 

The original Storrs Street salt shed was built in two phases starting in 1985 and ending in 1988. Cables and turnbuckles were installed in 2003 to help extend the life of the structure which held roughly 900 tons of salt. When conditions were checked in the spring of 2021, the structure was deemed beyond repair both by the City Engineer and the consulting engineering firm Burgess & Niple. Both agreed that any action to the structure would risk the integrity of the building and the safety of city personnel.

 

The estimated cost of the new salt storage facility is $200,000 and is scheduled for completion by September 1, 2021.