INDOT gets leg up on snow
Posted: Jan 11, 2012 9:54 PM EDT | Updated: Nov 5, 2014 5:12 PM EDT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Roads are clear as could be on Wednesday in South Bend, but with close to a foot of snow expected to fall on Thursday, road crews were out pretreating the pavement to get ready.
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) had crews on the roads spraying a mixture of salt and water called salt brine.
INDOT spokesperson Jim Pinkerton said this give crews a leg up on the snow.
"It'll allow the salt to kind of permeate into the pavement then when the snow starts falling it already has a layer of salt on the roads,” said Pinkerton.
INDOT said this treatment can even help to cut some of its costs.
"The salt brine is really a pretty effective tool and it is a lot more economical than just using salt after the fact,” said Pinkerton.
Crews sometimes treat roads with a chemical called ice ban. It’s a liquid that is used in below 15 degree temperatures.
INDOT said salt brine is an even cheaper alternative than that. Ice ban costs $2.00 a gallon and the salt brine is way less at just a nickel a gallon.
The South Bend Street Department also said it was pretreating streets. Crews started pretreating the roads Tuesday night and finished up by Wednesday afternoon.
Both departments said they have crews on standby ready to go when the snow hits.