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Draper City foreman explains 23% brine mix used to reduce road icing
Summary
A Draper City streets foreman described how crews mix and apply a 23% brine solution from trucks to create a temporary barrier that slows road icing and reduces the need for solid salt during heavy storms.
Austin, a Draper City streets foreman, said the city mixes and applies a 23% brine solution from trucks to help prevent road surfaces from freezing and to reduce the use of solid salt during heavy storms.
"We mix it at a perfect percentage, which is 23%, which is enough water to where the salt doesn't crystallize anymore, but also enough salt that the water doesn't freeze anymore," Austin said. He said the brine is sprayed from tanks on city trucks through nozzles to form a barrier between snow and pavement and that the trucks run off a power-take-off hydraulic system.
According to Austin, the brine allows crews to use less solid salt during dense storms because the treated pavement resists immediate freezing and helps plowed snow clear more effectively. He also noted that the trucks must travel at reduced speeds while applying the solution. "These trucks do have to go a little bit slower. They run off a PTO system, so it goes from the hydraulic pump, comes out of these tanks, and then is allowed to spray onto the road," he said. Austin added that once the brine dries, subsequent moisture hitting the surface slows refreezing.
The remarks in this briefing were informational; no formal policy changes or votes were recorded on brine use during the segment.
