The latest rust production technology?

[jaybee]

By now I expect most of the rust belt highway departments are using something that's become very common around here, spraying a salt brine solution on the road.  By coating the entire surface with a thin layer of Calcium Chloride the ice doesn't adhere to the roadway and is scrapes off easily or breaks up under traffic.  Highway officials claim they actually use less salt with better results although I cringe every time I drive through a fresh salty road spray before the weather even hits.

Well, we've seen some pretty serious ice here over the last couple of weeks and it made me think.  If you were expecting freezing rain, would it be beneficial to do the same at home?  Not every square inch of pavement, but the trouble spots.  Examples:
-High walls to the south that shade the driveway completely.
-Downspouts that empty onto a drive or sidewalk.
-Steep slopes.

After backing out of my garage it's necessary to stop on a mild sidehill then turn left and drive up the hill.  If there's much ice on the ground it isn't easy.  Maybe if I dissolved some ice melt in a garden sprayer and treated that area it would be easier to dislodge the ice?

[Bib_Overalls]

The salt will poison the soil where it runs off the pavement.  I some areas the salt used for road ice has been found in ground water.  Not the worst thing from an environmental standpoint.  But better than some of the alternatives.  

Not sure I would want the salt migrating to my flower beds and lawn.

[4t7rodman]

you could try straight nitrogen (fertilizer)  it would not harm but however would make the grass alongside the driveway the fastest, greenest growing in the neighborhood.   As long as you use the nitro sparely you wont hurt the grass.

[Bruce Dorsi]

Recently, the State of New Jersey installed a spray de-icing system on a portion of Interstate-78.

This is a test of an automated system which will spray from nozzles mounted in the roadway.  
....The nozzles look similar to pop-up lawn sprinkler heads, and are flush to the road surface.  I don't know if they pop-up or not.

The trial system has been installed on a steep grade which is prone to icing.  .....We have been having one of our mildest winters on record, so the system has not had a good test, yet.

[EMSjunkie]

Recently, the State of New Jersey installed a spray de-icing system on a portion of Interstate-78.

This is a test of an automated system which will spray from nozzles mounted in the roadway.  
 

They are doing the same thing down here in TX. they installed an automated system on I-27 just north of Canyon TX. it works pretty good. a real nasty hill that causes alot of problems when it get icy. they have been using calcium chloride here for a few years now, works really good, have'nt noticed any of our ambulances getting rust, and we are on the streets 24 / 7.

thats my $.002 worth.


Vance

[jaybee]

They are doing the same thing down here in TX. they installed an automated system on I-27 just north of Canyon TX. it works pretty good. a real nasty hill that causes alot of problems when it get icy. they have been using calcium chloride here for a few years now, works really good, have'nt noticed any of our ambulances getting rust, and we are on the streets 24 / 7.

Those are pretty deluxe systems!  We Iowegians don't have anything that fancy but then again around here people complain because they got caught in the "rush 10 minutes".  The fertilizer suggestion is a good one.  I used fertilizer in the first ice storm this year because I hadn't stocked up on ice melt befoe winter and the stores were all out.  It would also be something I could put in the garden sprayer without worrying so much about corrosion or damaging plants when I again try to use it for its intended purpose.  On the other hand I don't use a lot of salt, only when we get a lot of ice.  It's cold enough in Iowa we tend to get smow as opposed to ice.

[Dirk35]

They sand the roads in our town. All they do is wait for the worst of the weather so it doesnt wash away, then send out the sand trucks. Its good for the soil too.