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SALT LAKE CITY — In an average winter, the Utah Department of Transportation spends $5 million on salt to clear roads of ice and snow. Over the past dozen years or more, it has found ways to stretch the salt to save taxpayer dollars and clear the roads more efficiently.
Salt is still the No. 1 de-icing product, but UDOT also mixes it with water for a brine solution that has several benefits.
"We're always looking for new ways to do things more efficiently and keep people moving," said Robert Miles, UDOT Region 2 district engineer.
State plows were out in force in northern Utah this past weekend. When they weren't pushing snow, Miles said, they were treating roads with salt, or a brine solution.
UDOT has always applied salt to the roads since it lowers the freezing point of water. In 1997, UDOT also started to use a brine solution, carried in tankers, and applied to the roads before a storm. That material dries. When the storm arrives, the moisture mixes with the brine to create a surface layer that breaks down ice.
- Brine improves road conditions for safer travel.
- It takes four times less salt to prevent ice accumulation than to remove ice after it has formed.
- Brine is not only more cost-effective, the pre-treatment reduced the number of crashes, was less damaging to the roads than rock salt and sand, and was better for the environment.
"It's great for pre-treatment," said Miles. "It just makes the material we put down the road stick to the road better and be more efficient. Therefore, we use less material and ultimately we save money."
UDOT analysis shows the strategy helps save 30 percent of its salt. UDOT averages 194,000 cubic yards each winter, so the savings add up.
UDOT is not alone in its use of brine. A recent study sponsored by the New York Department of Transportation showed more departments of transportation nationwide are using proactive strategies with brine rather than reactive strategies with salt after the storm has arrived.
"Whether it's a different chemical makeup or whether it's a new technology in the type of truck we use, we always want to do the best that we can to keep people moving," Miles said.
When the temperature drops below 18 degrees, UDOT uses high-performance salts treated with magnesium and calcium that work well down to 5 degrees.
"It's a little more expensive, but it is cost-effective to use it in certain storms," said Miles.
UDOT also varies its road treatment strategy depending on the storm and the location of the specific road.
