Kentucky Transportation Cabinet crews across the 12 counties of District 1 are pre-treating area highways in preparation for a significant snowfall during the overnight hours of Wednesday into Thursday.
Initial accumulation estimates indicate this winter weather event has the potential to create travel issues during the overnight hours Wednesday and on the morning commute on Thursday.
Highway crews will be on the road today and Wednesday pre-treating roadways by applying brine. Motorists should be alert for slow moving trucks working along highways as crews go about their work.
Pre-treating involves running water through salt to generate brine. Tanker trucks then spray the brine on highway driving surfaces. The salt solution dries to leave a fine powder of salt on the pavement that is activated by falling snow in the early hours of a winter weather event.
The brine helps to initially improve driving conditions, then helps keep snow and ice from bonding to the pavement making it easier to plow off as it accumulates.
Pre-treating roadways prior to a snow and ice event is economical and provides highway crews with a way to get a head-start on the snow. However, highway crews are unable to pre-treat for every snow and ice event.
Pre-treating requires a fairly specific set of circumstances. If there is rain in the forecast prior to the start of frozen precipitation it will wash away the salt left behind by the drying brine. If temperatures are below about 18 degrees crews are unable to pre-treat as the brine may freeze when sprayed on the pavement creating slick spots.
Kentucky is among about a half-dozen states that pioneered pre-treating as a snowfighting tactic. It is now widely used. Several area counties now pre-treat county roads in heavily traveled areas and at intersections.
As highway crews prepare for the approaching snow and ice event, they encourage drivers to do their part- Check your vehicle to assure it is ready for winter driving. In a recent Colorado Department of Transportation study, almost half of vehicles that ran off the road during early season snow and ice events had sub-standard tread on their tires.
Most tire stores will do a free tire tread check. Many tire stores have early season specials on tires to help motorists prepare for winter driving.
Let’s all be careful out there.