The Department of Public Works usually uses 917 tons of salt per inch, but utilizing new technology and a different salt mixture last winter, the department used 376 tons per inch, the city says.

The city says it costs about $88 per ton of salt. In previous years, dealing with this year’s snowfall would have cost $1.75 million, but instead it cost $718,000.

According to the city, it snowed 21.7 inches in the 2019-20 winter season. In the 2018-19 winter,the National Weather Service says Pittsburgh recorded 36.6 inches, and 59.8 the winter before that.

“From adopting the City’s first snow plow tracker in 2015 to deploying technological and mechanical upgrades to our snow plows, the changes we have made have not only expanded city services and transparency but saved us money too,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto in a press release.

“The technology is already paying for itself and will only lead to more savings year after year.”
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