VTrans says truck telemetry, liquid salt and driver training cut salt use but trade-offs remain

Summary

Agency of Transportation maintenance staff told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee that truck telemetry, pre-wetting salt and new plow technology have reduced overall material use; officials and permit staff said further reductions are constrained by safety, variable winters and the need to address chloride-impaired watersheds.

Ernie Pat Reynolds, director of maintenance at the Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on Feb. 5 that technology and operational changes have reduced the highway system’s material footprint while aiming to preserve public safety.

“Now the trucks are computerized beyond what you can even imagine. We know how fast the truck is going. We know whether the pile is up and down. We know how much they’re putting down on the roadway at any given time,” Reynolds said, describing a shift from manual on/off spreading to automated, telemetry-driven application.

Reynolds and other agency staff described four main changes that they said have reduced salt and sand use: switching to computerized spreader controls that compensate for vehicle speed; pre-wetting granular salt with a liquid solution to make it work faster; mechanical improvements to…

VTrans says truck telemetry, liquid salt and driver training cut salt use but trade-offs remain

Summary

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