By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
CARO — It’s cold. It’s blowing. The roads are icy so why hasn’t salt been applied to help?
There are some misconceptions that salt and more salt in any kind of weather condition is the cure all for slippery roads, but that isn’t the case.
“For salt to work best, it needs a certain temperature and other factors,” said Tuscola County Road Commission Finance Director Mike Tuckey. “For salt, above 20 degrees it best.”
Throughout nearly all of January temperatures have been far below 20 degrees.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) records consider normal winter conditions to be temperatures about 20 degrees, with light to moderate winds and snowfall amounts from one to five inches in a 24-hour period; and during normal conditions, road commissions can generally keep roads free of ice and snow even though they are wet.
So far this winter has been far from normal with record snow fall and below zero temperatures.
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The Tuscola County Sheriff’s Department reported numerous accidents Friday morning.
Undersheriff Glen Skrent initially issued a caution warning for “a slew of accidents on M-25” and to avoid that area.
“Other accidents are coming in from across the northern parts of the county also due to slippery conditions,” Skrent noted about 30 minutes after the initial caution notice was issued. “Everything north of M-46 is icy.
“People need to slow down!”
The sheriff’s department notified the road commission about the road conditions. They are responding, but not necessarily with salt.
When salt can’t be used, the road commission uses a mix of sand and chloride.
“We use that on hills, curves and intersections mostly,” said Tuckey. “It works better adhering to the road when it’s windy. Salt tends to blow off.”
Between Thursday night’s snow and slightly warmer temperatures Friday, there was some melting; and refreezing making road ways treacherous.
As of the last highway report, the accidents on M-25 happened in the area of Thomas, Quanicassee, and Kirk roads in Akron and Wisner townships, and on 81 between Cass City and Caro.
When temperatures fall below 20 degrees, it takes salt, which lowers the freezing temperature of water, longer to work and it refreezes at a much faster rate so it isn’t always the best potion depending on conditions. Under certain conditions us salt can create the potential for a more dangerous conditions than what previously existed so continuous applications of salt during very low temperatures will actually cause more problems than it solves.
“In addition, when wind speeds exceed 15 to 25 mph, the snow that would normally blow across a dry road will adhere to the wet pavement, also speeding the dilution of the salt and creating a packed-ice type condition with traffic driving over it,” explained a press release from the MDOT.
So that’s why salt isn’t always the best option.
Tuckey noted the commission has an adequate supply of salt on hand, and has a back-up order in case more is needed.
“So we are in good shape with that,” he said. “There isn’t a shortage.”
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.