Chuck Soules, director of the city’s public works department, said Lawrence snow plowing crews are still without road salt, which means that crews are struggling to keep some city streets ice-free.

But Soules said he is now optimistic that the city will receive a shipment of the ice-melting mineral by week’s end. That’s an improvement from the situation on Wednesday when the city wasn’t sure when or whether it would get another salt shipment.

Salt supplies became depleted after a string of winter storms. Soules said the city still technically has a bit of salt left but is saving it to do emergency treatments on some of the city’s steepest hills.

Soules rated the city’s major streets as being in good condition, and he said plowing work and sand spreading would be continuing.