FREEHOLD, NJ – Meteorologists are predicting snowfall in Monmouth County tomorrow, and the county's Public Works crews are busy making preparations to keep the county roads clean.

 

Road crews from the county's Department of Public Works & Engineering have begun applying  liquid salt brine to many of the county's roads in order to prevent the snow and ice from bonding to the road surface. The county has 871 lane miles of roads. Tomorrow, hours before the snow is expected to begin falling, they will be applying rock salt treated with magnesium chloride. 

 

"We begin preparing for storms well in advance," said John W. Tobia, director of the county's Department of Public Works & Engineering. "Our snow room is activated and we will be monitoring its progress throughout the weekend. We will have a full complement of crews out clearing the roads."

 

The county puts into service all 95 trucks outfitted with spreading and plowing capabilities to combat snowstorms, Tobia said.  

 

According to the National Weather Service, heavy snow and windy conditions could produce a significant amount of snowfall in Monmouth County beginning tomorrow morning and ending late tomorrow night or early Sunday morning. Accumulations of 8 to 14 inches are predicted. Combined with wind, drifting snow and ice, travel could be hazardous tomorrow and tomorrow night.

 

This is the third year the county has applied the salt brine and magnesium chloride-treated rock salt. The salt brine and a pre-application of treated rock salt prevent the snow and ice from bonding to the roads, and the treated rock salt is environmentally friendly. It does not burn the grass or other roadside vegetation nor does it corrode the trucks or the steel bridge spans.  

 

"The key is to keep the ice and snow from bonding to the road surface," Tobia said. "You may notice that the lanes will be slushy instead of iced over. That's the first step before the plows come by and push it all aside."

 

As a result, there have been far fewer telephone calls from local police departments with regard to trouble spots, Tobia said. Typically, when police dispatchers call to report icy conditions - usually on bridges or curved roadways -the county dispatches additional trucks to do some spot treatments.   

 

The new rock salt works much better than the old rock salt, which was very corrosive to bridge structures, roadside vegetation, the roadway itself and trucks and equipment, Tobia said.

 

"We have found that magnesium chloride-treated rock salt is much more effective and, therefore, there is a savings in man hours and material," he said. "We use approximately 30 to 50 percent less material, depending on the snow event, for the same result."

 

#     #     #