LANSING, Mich. (AP) — About half of Michigan's road salt storage facilities are in poor condition.
The critique comes from the Michigan Department of Transportation and was included Thursday in a report from the state auditor general.
Road salt buildings are owned by the counties, but MDOT helps maintain them because a portion of the salt is used on roads controlled by the state. There are 189 county storage sites. Forty-eight percent are in poor condition, 41 percent are good and 11 percent are fair.
The audit report says salt storage facilities can be risky if not structurally sound. There also can be environmental impacts when salt is regularly exposed to water.
Lawmakers have approved $5 million to rehab salt storage sites.
