What is 40 feet by 100 feet, with eight-foot precast concrete walls and a cloth roof?

The answer is: Aberdeen’s brand new road salt shed.

That’s right, Aberdeen is the proud owner of a new shed specifically designed to hold the tons of salt used to keep the city roads ice-free.

Matt Lapinsky, Aberdeen's director of public works, proudly showed me the new structure along with a new Ford F-550 light duty dump truck/plow.

Built at a cost of $120,000, the new USA, Inc. shed replaces the older metal salt shed that was literally rusting away. The corrosive nature of the salt ate away the sides of the shed, allowing rain water to get into the building and further the corrosion process.

The old shed, measuring 30 feet by 40 feet with 5 foot-high cinder block walls, did not provide the needed space for salt and other building materials, such as rock and sand that the city uses on a daily basis. The new shed will not only store more salt, but with the placement of additional precast walls, can also store these other vital building supplies.

The precast walls make up the sides of the shed, while a series of metal girders support a white laminated cloth, held tightly by a series of ratcheting straps.

The concrete floor was poured by Horne Concrete Construction—located in Aberdeen.

The 2011 Ford F-550 dump truck is outfitted with an eight-foot Meyer snow plow blade and salt spreader, which are easily removed for year-round use.

Lapinsky explained that in years past, the older dump trucks were outfitted with bed inserts that held the salt, thus tying up the trucks for other duties. The new truck can be used as a plow and salt spreader, and quickly converted to a basic dump truck.  The new Ford is also Bluetooth enabled, allowing hands free cell phone use for the drivers.

As mundane as most DPW jobs—and tools—can be, it’s in times of emergency and need that the DPW is noticed. The backed-up toilet, the garbage that doesn’t get collected and the snow that doesn’t get plowed makes us realize the importance of this department. 

So the next time you see the guys in the bright yellow trucks with the new City of Aberdeen logo on the door, give them a wave or stop and tell them how much you appreciate all they do for us. You’ll make their day, I guarantee it!