Smithtown official: Sandy-damaged salt shed should be fixed soon

Repairs to a Town of Smithtown salt shed damaged by superstorm Sandy should be completed by next month, the town’s highway chief said Friday.

About one-third of the 70-foot-wide structure at the Highway Department’s Nesconset yard was “totally blown away” by the Oct. 29 storm, highway superintendent Glenn Jorgensen said in an interview. The rest of the plastic shed also was damaged, he said.

The shed, about 30 feet high, holds 4,000 cubic yards of salt mixture to clear snow- and ice-covered roads. Jorgensen said the entire building must be replaced.

The town board, in a unanimous vote at a special meeting Friday, awarded a $96,890 contract to Dome Corporation of America, based in Saginaw, Mich., to build a replacement cover.

“It’s important that we get that cover,” Jorgensen said. “I believe it takes a month.”

He said he continues to store salt in the shed, with a temporary cover to patch up the damage.

The temporary cover was replaced recently after it was damaged by high winds, he said.