Jackson officials say salt an improvement over cinders for slick roads

In the wake of the first snow event of the season, Jackson city officials said the recent decision to use deicing salt instead of cinders was an improvement over previous years.

The Jackson Board of Alderman voted last October to begin using salt to clear snowy roads instead of the cinder mixture used previously. Street crews had begun incorporating the salt in their clearing procedures in 2013, but improved storage options enabled them to have enough salt on-hand to make it their primary method going forward.

Salt brine was used as a pre-treatment on roadways known to be hazardous in anticipation of the storm.

The Jackson Street Department plowed and spread salt on main roads when the snow began, and found that by the time crews went back out to plow again, about three quarters of the snow and ice had become slushy and easier to handle.

"This was our first real experience using salt," public works director Rodney Bollinger said. "And we are very pleased with the results."

After plowing, more salt was spread and roads were down to pavement within a matter of hours. At that time, crews transitioned to using a mixture of cinders and salt to address side streets.

"Altogether, crews worked 15 hours pretreating, plowing, and clearing streets," Bollinger said. Street Department foreman Danny Youngerman said using salt was definitely an improvement over previous years' methods. Cinders, in addition to being somewhat less effective, were known to result in more of a mess.

In total, the city used roughly 70 tons of salt on the designated snow routes and problem areas around Jackson. The Jackson Street Department is capable of housing 400 tons of deicing salt at their facilities.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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