Let’s Talk Winter: Road Brining

January 6, 2010 in Life by emily | 14 comments

Brining… not just for Thanksgiving turkeys anymore!

Does any other DOT do this?  It seems insane to me. This never happened in VA or NH.

Basically a big truck drives around (followed by a little truck with a big sign saying to stay back… I really don’t think he has to worry about tailgaters) spewing saltwater presumably to prevent icing in storms.

brining

(Uh, yeah I took a picture while driving.  Brownie points to anyone who knows what road it is.)

For a state and county that complain so much about not having any money they sure do seem to waste a lot (can you say socio-economic diversity busing* anyone?).

So please comment!  Does your state do this?  I’ve been scratching my head over this since we moved here.

* no idea who runs that site but it had a decent summary of wcpss busing if you’re bored at work/home and want to read about the county’s stupidity

  1. karen’s avatar

    karen on January 6, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    Happens all the time in MN… roads are pre treated before big storms to help prevent icing… very necessary here. The chemicals used here lose their effectiveness below zero though. We don’t have the second truck that follows… that would be way too many vehicles!

    Reply

    1. emily’s avatar

      emily on January 6, 2010 at 2:18 pm

      Really? Wow. Maybe I should have gotten off campus more in NH because it certainly did snow there.

      We’ve been promised flurries with little to no accumulation. Bring out those briners! The south is funny. :)

      Reply

  2. Cheri’s avatar

    Cheri on January 6, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    Same here in Utah… I miss NC, however. Is that interstate 85 or 40?

    It really does help out in the long run with all the idoits that think “you can’t drive” after a storm… ah-hem… NO ONE can drive on ice… AND if you think I can’t drive, why, oh why, do you ride my tail??

    Love your quilts and it took all I had not to buy all your patterns at your sale. I WANT them all, but I’m trying to recover from the year. I just got one pattern from a local shop before you put them on sale. So, I’ll do that one and then get another after that. LOVE your site!!

    Reply

  3. Katie’s avatar

    Katie on January 6, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    In Texas? No. lol. I’m not sure if we even have a salt truck. We just close schools if it looks like it might get cold.

    Reply

  4. Beth’s avatar

    Beth on January 6, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    Is that Route 1/64? I have a friend who lives in Holly Springs and that looks like the way to her house!

    They do it in Ohio, only with a smaller lead truck and no follow truck.

    Reply

  5. Dory’s avatar

    Dory on January 6, 2010 at 4:11 pm

    Not in Missouri. My guess is I-540…am I right? :-) .

    Reply

  6. John’s avatar

    John on January 6, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    Ack, I just missed my opportunity. I was going to say 540, too.

    Reply

  7. Louise’s avatar

    Louise on January 6, 2010 at 7:44 pm

    Looks a lot like 40/540 to me, too. They do the brining thing in our area of VA now, too, only the truck doesn’t spray all crazy like that, only in nice, orderly stripes that are still visible after they dry. I hope we don’t actually get the snow they’ve forecast for Friday!

    Reply

  8. Lucretia Sappington’s avatar

    Lucretia Sappington on January 6, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    Yep! Salt trucks are rolling in Nashville, TN in great anticipation of the snow. Milk shortage too.

    Reply

  9. kristin’s avatar

    kristin on January 7, 2010 at 8:28 am

    VT does this now too. Actually seems to be very effective too. I guess that is 540 as well. Used to live in Cary, looks very much like my trek to Target.

    Reply

  10. anaximander’s avatar

    anaximander on January 7, 2010 at 9:50 am

    They do it all the time in Ontario – every couple of days on major routes. In general, it keeps the salt from eating away at undercarriages, except when you have to pass one of these and instead get it all over your car, and it eats your paint instead :)

    Reply

  11. Susan’s avatar

    Susan on January 8, 2010 at 11:47 am

    In battle creek, MI the county and city are so poor even if we have 3 inches of snow or it’s the weekend they don’t show up to put any salt, sand or plow trucks out. Must be nice to have such attentive city trucks to have two of them.

    Reply

  12. Aubrey’s avatar

    Aubrey on January 8, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    My guess is 540 also.

    I don’t know if the truck spraying really helps or not, but I grew up in Northern California where it snowed a lot and I remember trucks doing the same type of thing.

    p.s. I got the pattern that I ordered in the mail a couple days ago. It might take a while for me to get it completed (I’m 35 weeks pregnant right now), but I’ll send you a pic when I’m done with it.

    Reply

  13. Melissa’s avatar

    Melissa on January 8, 2010 at 8:34 pm

    I’m pretty sure TN does it too.

    Reply