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Salting city/county roads
Does anyone know whether Park City/Summit County has looked into the energy used by or the effects of using salt on our roads in the winter?
Might it be better to switch to sand as they do in much of New England?
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RE:Salting city/county roads
I spoke with Park City's Public Works Manager Pace Erickson about the use of salt on roads. Park City is very judicious about the application of salt.
Park City only uses salt when necessary to keep driving conditions safe. An inert grit made from baked clay is mixed with the salt which acts similar to sand. This provides traction until the salt begins to melt the ice and snow.
As a general rule, Park City only used road salt at intersections, steep roads and curves in roadways. Some storms present such severe conditions which manifest into serious driving hazards. Hazards such as ice or windblown snow can create such severe hazards that more salt is used than usual. These conditions are rare and only happen once or twice a snow season.
And although I tend to forget how different it is, winter weather in New England is very different from here. When roads are sanded in New England, it is generally done to surfaces that are not melted off. The sand binds makes driving on New England ice safer, as it provides traction. Pace pointed out that if we used sand and then the snow melted off, as it often does here as the day progresses, it could actually create dangerous driving conditions!
Hope this helps! I know I learned a lot in talking with Pace!
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