| PAW PAW, Mich. (AP) -- State highway officials are
experimenting with a road deicing compound made with sugar beet
byproducts, to the extent that Mother Nature will allow.
The sticky stuff has been tested for the past two winters on U.S. 31
between Berrien Springs and Niles and is now getting smeared on Interstate
94 from the Indiana border to Calhoun County.
The liquid makes snow removal quicker and easier for plows by
preventing ice and snow from bonding to pavement, Michigan Department of
Transportation spokeswoman Julie Martin said.
Made with magnesium chloride and sugar beet byproducts, the compound is
biodegradable and, unlike road salt, doesn't corrode metal. Despite having
the consistency of molasses, state transportation workers say it can
easily be rinsed off in a car wash.
But there's a catch.
"We've only used it three times this winter," Martin told The
Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph. "Roads have to be dry to apply it.
With all the snows, the roads haven't been dry..."
Also if the weather's too warm -- above 38 degrees Fahrenheit -- the
sugar beet compound can't be used, Martin said, because it would make the
road too slippery.
But under the right conditions, the goo is great, she said.
"Used in the right place at the right time, it's very
effective."
The Indiana Department of Transportation has used a similar product for
some time, and told Michigan officials that the compound has increased
road safety. Tests of the sugar beet stuff in Michigan will continue for a
few years before officials decide whether to use it statewide, Martin
said.
The liquid costs between 64 and 84 cents per gallon. It takes 35
gallons to cover a one-mile lane of roadway, Martin said.
She would not provide a direct price comparison with salt, but said the
cost of making the sugar beet product has plummeted recently as more beet
processors learn of the project and divert byproducts to it.
The compound can be applied up to one week before a storm hits and
remain effective.
But, Martin said, traditional methods still reign supreme.
"You still have to use salt and sand. You can't always be
pro-active if you get smacked by a sudden storm." |