With the impending winter storm on its way to Western North Carolina just after midnight Monday, Jan. 15, N.C. Department of Transportation crews have already been hard at work Sunday afternoon prepping the roads for what's to come.
NCDOT said Sunday its crews would be out spreading brine in at least the 13 westernmost counties of North Carolina, and with the announcement, officials asked all drivers to stay back from the spray and allow the workers to do their jobs to keep everyone safe.
Brine is a mixture of water and 23% salt that is applied to roadways to help prevent ice from bonding to the pavement. It's not always needed, but NCDOT crews have determined it will be effective on roadways in several WNC counties with the current winter storm forecast.
Crews will pretreat roads with brine in dry conditions when the temperature is above 18 degrees, and the decision to pretreat roads is made 24-48 hours before a storm.
NCDOT lists several benefits of brine HERE:
- Lowers the freezing temperature of water to about 18 degrees (-8 degrees Celsius).
- Prevents snow and ice from bonding with the road's surface.
- Keeps snow from being compacted by traffic, which can turn it into ice.
- Is more effective and coats roadways better than plain salt or sand.
- Gives crews time, since brining can occur up to 48 hours before a storm.
- Costs 15 cents per gallon to produce. One mile of a single lane of road can be treated for about $6, whereas rock salt costs about $14.38 to treat the same stretch of road.
Brine is made by loading a hopper with salt and water and agitating the ingredients until the solution is 23% salt. The solution is pumped into a holding tank and loaded onto trucks to be sprayed on roads.
Sometimes, NCDOT crews will use a brine blend with 10% calcium to remove snow and ice during and after a winter weather event. This solution can be used in combination with rock salt when temperatures are lower to keep the salt working longer.
STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSNCDOT crews out ahead of winter storm to brine roads in at least a dozen WNC counties | WLOS
