This snowy winter PennDOT officials in Mercer County have had to focus on salt conservation while keeping the roads safe for motorists.

David Bollenbacher, county maintenance manager for PennDOT, said the county has about 15 to 20 snow days' worth of salt left, and it could be weeks before more is available.

"Nobody can buy any more salt, at least right at this moment," Bollenbacher said Tuesday. "I hope that the market will open up in another two to three weeks. There's none to buy. They don't have anymore in stockpile right now."

The county office buys its salt from a company in Conneaut, Ohio, he said.

"Overall we try to budget for a worst-case winter. We went into the year with a little bit of a stockpile; the factor of the supply is probably the most bothersome thing," he said. "I don't see the salt running out before we can get more."

In the meantime, PennDOT is taking measures to conserve salt.

Bollenbacher said crews can use brine to cut down on the amount of salt or mix the salt with anti-skid, a fine, sandy material.

Salt doesn't work well in very low temperatures and it's ineffective when the mercury dips below 15 degrees, Bollenbacher said. It takes an enormous amount of salt to melt the snow in extreme cold, in which case anti-skid is used.

When the salt supply starts to get low, PennDOT crews do more plowing and use more anti-skid, Bollenbacher said.

Bollenbacher asked that drivers slow down during bad weather.

PennDOT has a priority list for clearing roads, based on the amount of traffic and whether they're near schools or hospitals, Bollenbacher said. He said crews also focus on hills, intersections and curves.

Back roads are maintained with plows and anti-skid in time for people to drive to work in the morning, he said.

"Our guys are good. They know what needs to be done," Bollenbacher said. "The same drivers drive the same roads all the time and are aware their families have to drive the same roads."

Bollenbacher said PennDOT's goal is to make the roads safe while conserving supplies.

State Police Lt. Francis Grolemund, commander of the Mercer station in Jackson Township, said troopers have been satisfied with PennDOT's work, noting the crews are on the road all of the time.