County Road Snow Removal

Some of you have asked me about the product that the county Public Works Department is using on the hill roads in the county. (County 5, 15, 23, 14, 41 etc.) The evidence is viewed as some lines on the roadway. Steve Campbell of the Public Works Department tells me that the product is simply dissolved salt in water. The crews spray it on the road in anticipation of a snowfall. Campbell says that if there is just a light snowfall, the salt helps dissolve the snow and allows the hill roads to stay passable without the aid of a plow and sand/salt mixture procedure. (Example: this process could eliminate the need to call the trucks out at night.) If the snowfall is heavier, the plows are needed. However they can clear the accumulation and explose the surface area and the salt allows a faster melt of the snow stuck to the road.

I have also been questioned as to if the county is using a corn based product. Campbell stated that there is a product available, but the county would have to buy it in a 1,000 gallon quantity and he does not have a tanker in which it could be stored. Campbell also mentioned a product with green coloring. This has been noticed by some citizens. He said that it is made by Cargill and is called Clear Lane. It is treated salt with magnesium chloride, green dye, and some sugar. Campbell said that the sugar acts as a rust inhibiter. This writer is wondering if the sugar is a corn fructose product? Campbell said he did not know the answer. end