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Evanston crews demonstrate plow inspections and on-site salt‑brine production
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Summary
City of Evanston fleet and street staff demonstrated how they inspect plows for safe winter operations and how the city mixes and stores salt brine (reported salinity 23.3) for road treatment; no formal action was taken.
Dennis Lawrence, a City of Evanston fleet lead technician, led a public demonstration describing how crews inspect plow assemblies and prepare salt brine used for winter road treatment. "We're looking at the blades as well as the condition of the, moldboards," Lawrence said, adding crews check the deflector and all fasteners for tightness.
Patrick Kennedy, a street department employee, said the demonstration included the AcuBrine system used to make the city's liquid de‑icing product. "We're here to show you how to use our AcuBrine machine, how the salt brine is made for the city," Kennedy said. Staff described the production steps: salt is loaded into a hopper, mixed with water, and blended "till it reaches, 23.3 salinity," then transferred to on‑site storage.
"We have 3 8 6000 gallon on tanks outside," a staff member said in the presentation; the transcript formatting of that capacity was unclear. Staff also described the conveyor and drop‑chute system used to move and spread salt into truck hoppers: the chute spins and propels salt onto the ground for truck loading. Lawrence said crews spray brine on salt and on spreader sides to widen coverage "for the safety of our citizens when they're driving up and down" Evanston streets.
The session was instructional and operational in focus; it did not include votes or policy decisions. Staff presented the inspection and brine‑making steps as routine maintenance practices intended to improve roadway safety and salt application efficiency.
The demonstration concluded with a summary of practical checks crews perform before plowing and of how on‑site brine mixing is integrated into winter operations. No formal motions, assignments, or funding changes were recorded during the session.
