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Roads Untreated, Salt Supply Nearly Gone

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A salt shortage in the City of Pittsburgh may leave some roads untreated Sunday night.

Crews mixed the last few tons of salt with sand Sunday and will only use it on primary roads, steep hills and sharp curves.

Mayor Bill Peduto says a shipment of salt is on the way.

"We have 500 tons that will be delivered in the morning and hopefully another 500 in the evening," he said. "We're anticipating 2-3 inches tomorrow night. The thousand tons is the bare minimum to get us by though."

The mayor says the city needs about 500 tons of salt for every inch that falls.

"How are we going to get anywhere? How's emergency crews -- how are the kids getting to school tomorrow?" one woman asked.

The city is trying to stretch the last bit of salt that's left, by mixing it with sand.

The National Weather Service said snow showers should stop Sunday night. However, temperatures in the city will fall to the single digits and areas south of the city will be in the low teens.

Slick roads caused a backup on the Fort Pitt Bridge in the afternoon. Two cars collided just before the entrance to the tunnel.

One person was taken to the hospital.

The cold weather has also caused some big problems on the rivers.

The Allegheny River in Kittanning is frozen over.

Several inches of snow sits on top of the ice.

You wouldn't even know there was a river there, except for a few small cracks and the bridge.

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