As Long Island braces for snowstorm, towns plan how to treat roads
On Wednesday, Town of Brookhaven Superintendent of Highways Daniel P. Losquadro met with a team of town officials to map out scenarios to combat this weekend's storm, which the National Weather Service warns could drop more than a foot of snow on Long Island.
Among the discussions: how temperature and precipitation benchmarks might trigger an intricate weave of battle plans, when to brine, when to plow, when to lay down rock salt, and when and where to lay down a mix of rock salt and sand — all in what likely will be a round-the-clock effort by crews to keep a maze of town roads open and safe in the face of what figures to be a major winter storm.
"It's like planning for a lot of what happens in life," Losquadro said. "It's part art — and part science."
And a lot of educated guesswork.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The Town of Brookhaven has some 3,700 lane miles of road, the largest town road system in New York and the third-largest road network overall in the state.
- Brookhaven officials have discussed when to brine, when to plow, when to lay down rock salt, and when and where to lay down a mix of rock salt and sand to keep a maze of town roads open and safe.
- Long Island agencies get their supplies from the Staten Island-based Atlantic Salt, which a Brookhaven official said had kept them in good stead.
The Town of Brookhaven has some 3,700 lane miles of road, the largest town road system in New York and the third-largest road network overall in the state — behind roads maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation and the New York City Department of Transportation.
The next closest town road system in New York? "It's about 2,000 lane miles," Losquadro said.
Losquadro knows. Having served more than a dozen years in his post with Brookhaven, he is on the executive committee of the New York State Association of Town Highway Superintendents, a group of about 950 members. He is the downstate representative for Long Island.
Last winter, many upstate agencies struggled to acquire needed rock salt because of the Buy American Road Salt Act, which prioritizes U.S.-mined salt for municipal contracts in New York and was signed into state law in 2023. A temporary waiver by Gov. Kathy Hochul this season helped reinstate suppliers in Canada.
LI supplies from Staten Island
Long Island agencies get their supplies from Staten Island-based Atlantic Salt, which Losquadro said had kept them in good stead.
A phone call to the Staten Island offices of Atlantic Salt was referred to its corporate headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, where a receptionist said a spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
A spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, Michael Martino, told Newsday on Wednesday the county's salt reserve held by its Department of Public Works was at 51%, noting: "Additional deliveries are scheduled ahead of the storm expected this weekend."
He said the county had 10,000 tons of salt on hand — and a typical storm required about 2,500 tons to clear county roads.
"Based on current projections," Martino wrote in an email, "we are confident that our salt supply is sufficient for this weekend's weather event."
Nassau County officials did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding storm preparation.
Preparing the roads in Brookhaven Town for the coming storm is "part art — and part science," according to Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro. Credit: Barry Sloan
In Brookhaven, Losquadro said salt barns at the town's 14 maintenance yards were stocked with a total of about 10,000 tons of salt, enough to handle one storm, considering the town's massive road system. Expecting new deliveries, he hopes to be at full capacity — about 20,000 tons — by Friday.
Fighting snow and keeping roads clear aren't cheap. The latest salt deliveries will cost Brookhaven $99.96 per ton, Losquadro said.
Town's battle plan
This weekend, Brookhaven will use about 250 pieces of equipment from its highway, parks, waste management and general services departments, among them tank trucks spraying brine, dump trucks and other vehicles spreading salt and sand, as well as plows.
Additionally, the town may use another 150 seasonal contractors to help keep roads open.
But Losquadro said the vast stores of salt — and sand — enable the town many cost-effective options when fighting a storm. Town maintenance staffs make brine on site, combining water and salt in an approved environmental mix. They also mix sand and salt as needed.
But how to attack a storm? "It's all weather- and temperature-dependent," Losquadro said.
If it's cold and there's no rain in the forecast, crews will pretreat roads with the brine solution, sprayed onto the pavement, to provide a surface barrier that helps keep roads from icing. (Rain would just wash away the salt.) Hills and inclined road areas — in Brookhaven, the area around Bald Hill or roads on the North Shore, for instance — likely will get a mix and salt and sand, which helps provide traction.
And road salting? It's effective only down to a temperature of about 15 degrees.
And if snowfall totals prove less than expected — maybe, even no snow at all?
"Nothing?" Losquadro said with a laugh. "Nothing, would make me happier."
John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.
Full coverage of the winter storm from NewsdayTV The NewsdayTV team was across Long Island monitoring the winter weather and what's next.
Full coverage of the winter storm from NewsdayTV The NewsdayTV team was across Long Island monitoring the winter weather and what's next.
