HUTCHINSON, Kan. — If you have driven along Airport Road, you may have noticed some work taking place on top of the salt storage bin at Hutchinson Salt.

General Manager Jim Barta says the barn suffered damage from the storm Wednesday afternoon. He says his guys are making repairs to the roof.

“We are also redoing our entire mill building, we are on year four of the rebuild project, which includes all new rebar, cement, siding and paint,” Barta said. “We currently have the south side of the mill completed along with a new Hutchinson Salt Company sign that was installed upon completion.”

He says they have now moved to the north side of the building. That presented a challenge because of railcar loading. They had to build a massive steel structure for the scaffolding so they could continue to load railcars while repairs are being made to the building. The scaffold company just completed the scaffolding project on the north side. Barta said they will start repairs on the north side of the building this month.

Next on the schedule is erecting a new building for the new hoisting system. They will install that in 2020 to increase production. They are also going to build a new shipping and receiving dock building at the main entrance of the mine shaft.

Since hired in 2015 to restructure and rebuild the operation, they have installed a new headframe for the hoisting system, installed all new electrical underground, installed new conveyor systems and installed new skips/salt buckets — which meant a 25% increase in production. They also rebuilt the M7 fine processing building exterior, installed a new truck load out scale and built a new outside shipping and receiving dock.

Barta says they still have a lot of work ahead on the surface buildings. He says the place looks so much nicer with a good coat of gray paint.