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Union melts snow like "magic"
Pam Allen – The
Daily Gazette
First published May 28, 2005
A deicing
solution tested on a section of Route 9 last winter appeared to
minimize ice on the busy state roadway, and the chemical will be
used again this winter to improve traffic safety, transportation
officials said.
The magnesium
chloride spray was tested for the first time in the Capital Region
in January. State road crews applied the treatment prior to several
snowstorms, on Route 9 between the Crescent Bridge and Route 146.
"The preliminary
results were satisfactory, and it performed as advertised, if you
will. We see this as a bigger help early in the season, but we do
intend to continue with the operation next year," said Robert
Selover, associate director for the state Department of
Transportation's maintenance division.
Ideally, the
solution works best when the pavement is between 20 degrees and 36
degrees, and humidity is less than 50 percent, Selover said.
Since the
applications on Route 9 didn't begin until January, when
temperatures are typically colder than early winter, it was
difficult to determine results based on ideal conditions, he said.
The treatment,
which was shown to decrease icing when it was used in other parts of
the state, is applied prior to a storm. Called "Magic-0," it
inhibits ice from bonding to the pavement, and salt is then used on
a regular schedule to keep the road clear.
DOT invested
about $14,000 for special spray equipment for the agency's operation
out of Clifton Park. Maintenance superintendents there will decide
which roads to treat next year, Selover said.
The solution
costs DOT 84 cents a gallon, and it cost about $500 each time the
approximately four-mile stretch of Route 9 was treated, DOT
officials said.
It's hard to
measure the actual success of the material because factors such as
traffic counts and accident rates can vary considerably from winter
to winter.
"When you look at
wintertime, I'm not sure you can measure anything that means
anything. But the level of service should improve because the road
is easier to navigate," Selover said.
Brennan
Landscaping Inc. in Schenectady is the Capital District's sole
distributor for "Magic-O" and "Magic Salt."
Company owner Tim
Brennan said he used "Magic-0," the spray form of the solution, for
the first time last winter to spray salt piles at a half-dozen local
businesses, including Union College, St. Peter's Hospital and Time
Warner-Cable.
"This is catching
on like wildfire," said Brennan, who also retails both products from
his business at 1100 Erie Boulevard.
Brennan said he
is especially fond of the products because they are water soluble,
and approved by the state Department of Conservation as being
environmentally sensitive.
Unlike the spray
solution alone, which can develop a greasy film when applied on
frozen concrete, a combination of salt and the magnesium chloride
solution can be used in below freezing temperatures, Brennan said.
The mixture is
more effective because oil is less apt to settle on concrete when it
is attached to a carrier, he said.
Officials at
Union College said they used the solution for the first time this
past winter, and plan to use it again next year.
"Overall, it
worked great," college spokeswoman Lisa Stratton said.
She said the
magnesium chloride solution, which was sprayed on piles of salt
prior to its application, was more expensive than the school's
traditional salt treatment, but had several attractive environmental
and long term money-saving benefits.
The school's salt
usage was reduced considerably, which helps increase the life of the
campus plants, and the solution is non-corrosive, which means it
does not damage sensitive wildlife, and could add as many as two or
three years to the life of the college's snow-removal equipment,
Stratton said.
Brennan said the
product cuts normal rock salt use by 30 to 50 percent. |
