Moray Council are to spend over £400,000 on a salt storage facility they say will help to keep the regions roads clear for many winters to come.
Capable of holding around 6000 tonnes of road salt, the store – to be built at the local authority depot at Ashgrove Road in Elgin – was originally estimated to cost £300,000.
However, the cost is now likely to be £410,000 – although officials insist that it remains good value if roads are to be kept ice-free.
Road’s maintenance manager Bill Ross said: “Despite an increase in the forecast cost for a salt store the business case for this project remains strong.”
Moray had very little use for salt this winter thanks to much milder than expected conditions, with just 6000 tonnes laid by February – the lowest for ten years and just half of that used last winter. Because of that it is expected that Moray Council’s roads department will see an underspend it its budget this year.
Dome-UK, a Bristol based company, has won the contract to build the new salt store.