Has Michigan found a solution to icy roads?

The county road commissions in Michigan may soon have the ability to beat winter weather to the punch with a new concept called anti-icing.

Anti-icing goes beyond what can be done to de-slick a road with salt or sand, using mineral-well brine (a form of saltwater) that prevents snow from sticking to cold roads in the first place. Brine sprayed on pavement forms a bond-breaker between the surface and the ice/snow, melting the snow faster and reducing chances ice will form and bond with the surface.

According to the County Road Association (CRA), the process is similar
to applying cooking oil that prevents food from sticking to a frying pan.

In an 8-year study by the Road Commission for Montcalm County, road
crews found anti-icing to be an effective tool in combating dangerous winter
driving conditions.

“We have to do what we can to make roads safe for travel as quickly as
possible,” said Mark Christensen, superintendent-manager for Montcalm County
roads, in the latest issue of Crossroads magazine, published by the
CRA. “Anti-icing is a proactive approach to winter road maintenance. We’ve seen
the success of anti-icing and learned when and where it works best.”

Operating on a shoestring budget, the Montcalm road agency originally outfitted a single truck with equipment capable of spraying brine on roads. In the first year, the road commission saw a 20 percent cutback in slide-through accidents and rear-enders in areas where anti-icing was used. By the third year, the reduction in accidents dropped by 35 percent.

Montcalm now has seven trucks capable of spraying brine that will last on roads for two weeks, if there aren’t any winter weather events to wash it away.

The county has also cut its salt use substantially, dropping from 15,000 tons per year to about 5,000 tons, depending on the severity of the winter. This saves the road commission winter-maintenance money as the price of salt continues to rise.

The next move is for many more county road commission’s to follow the path taken by Montcalm.