While Minnesotans are enjoying summer, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is busy preparing for winter.

Semi trucks have been steadily delivering 14,275 tons of road salt totaling $986,935 since last month to MnDOT’s 22 truck stations across the 11 counties in southeastern Minnesota’s District 6.

Summer is a good time to deliver salt because it is dry and can be moved efficiently to storage areas at each MnDOT truck station. Each truckload is approximately 25 tons. The salt is hauled from Mississippi River barges.

Once the salt is delivered, each truckload is tested by MnDOT’s District 6 materials lab for moisture, size and impurities. The lab has already done 1,344 truckload sample tests in 2014 and annually completes 1,500 to 3,000 salt sample tests in Rochester.

MnDOT works at this time of year with salt to gain the most value possible for the public.