(WXMI) — More snow is on the way, and local road commissions are mobilizing to clear the roads when it arrives.
Salt plays a key role in meeting that goal.
“We use upwards of 40,000 tons in a big season, and we've probably used a couple thousand to this point,” says Steve Roon, the Kent County Road Commission’s (KCRC) director of Local Road Construction & Maintenance. “So we've got plenty on hand. We're ready to go as needed.”
Salt helps reduce water’s freezing point, making it more difficult to turn into ice. This makes the roads slushy rather than icy.
However, several factors can make salt less effective at preventing ice, such as very low temperatures and large amounts of snow.
Keeping the roads clear requires a multi-layered approach, which involves pretreating bridges, ramps and main roads. Once the snow starts falling, the plows are out in full force.
“We kind of are set up and staffed in a way, have our equipment that we're really trying to get through our system,” says Roon. “If we had a system-wide snow event, within 36 hours after the event where we're going to clean that up, [we] kind of push it back within 36 hours.”
Between the day and night shifts, KCRC has more than 100 plow drivers.
Please remember to give plows a good amount of space when on the road. A new Michigan law requires other vehicles to stay away from active plows by at least 200 feet — that equates to the total length of about 13 cars.
Michigan
Snowplow rules of the road: Staying safe this winter
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
