DECATUR - When gas prices finally fell below the $2 per gallon mark, it was a cause for cheer. But some people are finding that some of the money they saved on gas is going toward paying for the rock salt needed to get the ice off their driveways.

That is, if they can even find rock salt.

With Central Illinois enduring patches of freezing rain on top of ice and snow during the past few days, local businesses have seen rock salt bags fly off the shelves as the weather chills, leaving some customers to search for alternative ice-melting options.

Garver Feeds owner Gene Garver said he sold his last bag of rock salt on Tuesday and probably won't receive anymore until after the New Year.

"I got the last load two weeks ago," he said. "I tried to get salt from other manufacturers, but I haven't had any luck."

"It's in great demand," he said. "Some people are desperate for it in order to get in and out of their driveways."

Garver said his lack of rock salt is not because he hasn't been trying to stock up on the much-needed item at his business. Rock salt is in short supply nationwide.

The country's rock salt supply is thin this year due to heavy winter storms last year, and it has been difficult for the nation to replenish the supply. And the high demand that has continued from 2007 into 2008 hasn't helped the situation either.

The demand has driven prices up and the pinch is not just hitting residents. The cost of salt for local governments has increased significantly. The city of Decatur is paying $59.67 a ton for salt, compared with $44 last year. The price was $34 in 2003. Some governments in Illinois are paying up to $140 per ton.

"Price is not an object," Garver said of the price increases, which he said are nearly double from a year ago. "(Customers) know (rock salt) can solve a lot of problems for them."

Farm and Fleet assistant manager Jason Fogler said they are also completely out of rock salt for the moment, but are working with their suppliers to meet demand.

"We haven't had an issue with getting (rock salt) before," he said, "but its selling out with (our suppliers) fast."

Fogler said Farm and Fleet offers the alternative of solar salt. It harms the concrete, but it melts the ice.

"That's really all we can offer," he said.

Garver also gave suggestions on what he offers at his business to rid porches, sidewalks and driveways of ice. Garver Feeds carries ice melt, which is the most popular item after rock salt, Garver said.

"We do sell urea, which is a fertilizer," he said. "That's a product to give you grip and rot the ice." It also helps fertilize the ground and it's not hard on the driveway, but it's more expensive at $21 for a 50-pound bag, he added.

Chicken grit is like sand, but coarser and runs $8 per 50-pound bag. It doesn't melt the ice, but it provides a good grip for walking on, he said.

He doesn't suggest using sand or cat litter as it often turns ice into "a gummy material" and can leave a mess that can be tracked through the house.

Shannon Binder, vice president of operations at R.D. McMillen Enterprises, said her business sells calcium chloride and magnesium chloride as alternatives.

While the products melt ice at a lower temperature than rock salt, "rock salt is a much more inexpensive product," she said.

To date, the contract industrial cleaning firm has sold about 350,000 pounds of rock salt in less than 90 days.

"It's a much-needed item and hard to get a hold of," Binder said. "Technically, we haven't even hit the new year, and we're already up (on the amount sold) from last year."

aspates@herald-review.com|421-6986