Anti-Icing Operations with Prewetted Fine-Graded Salt

Abstract

The Kansas Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in cooperation with the Brown and Columbia County Highway Departments conducted a 2-year study of various gradations of road salt used during winter storm events in an anti-icing application. The objectives of the study were to document the advantages of two finer gradations of prewetted salt used during anti-icing operations and to evaluate the ability of current salt spreader equipment to distribute various gradations of salt. The four-task study consisted of laboratory and field testing of various prewetting rates for the different gradations of salt, field observations and documentation of actual winter maintenance activities, analysis of data collected during actual storm events, and reporting of results. Results and conclusions from the 2 years of data collection were limited because only a minimal number of storm events could be documented. The finer gradation of salt did produce a faster salt brine reaction on the pavement, but it did not last as long as the standard gradation of salt, which resulted in more frequent reapplication of the finer gradation of salt.