Ramsey Resident - 2015 - November/December

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Salt and Ice Control is article will help answer some questions citizens have about ice control and what methods the City uses to rst must have some basic knowledge of the materials used in the process. Sand on its own does not have ice-melting capability. Sand is primarily used as an abrasive to provide temporary traction. Sand works best on hard packed snow where it can embed itself into the snow and remain there. When e e salt prevents the sand from freezing in is sand/salt mixture is only used in extreme cold weather or freezing rain. Many larger cities and highway departments are reassessing their use of sand in their snow and ice control programs. Several reasons include the cost of clean-up, the clogging of storm sewer inlets, and c, the sand is crushed into ect on air quality. Pure salt is used on all of Ramseys primary roads and intersections to help control ice. Salt has a is means that water normally freezes at 32 de- grees but, with the introduction of salt, the freezing temperature is lowered to the 15 to 20 degree range. e surface temperature of the road determines the amount of de-icing chemical needed and how ef- fectively the chemical will work. As temperatures go down, the amount of deicer needed to melt a given ective at 30 degrees than at 20 degrees. Before a dry de-icing chemical can act, it must dissolve into a brine solution. Brine is the term used e necessary moisture needed to accomplish this can come from snow on the road surface or from water vapor in the air (humidity) . . . to create this moisture re- c friction. At extremely low temperatures many of these sources are not available. is is accomplished by placing a brine tank on the spinner. Wetting provides moisture to make brine and speeds up the melting process. In addition, the wet salt has less of a tendency to bounce c. An overall savings in lost or wasted salt can be as high as 20% to 30% with the use of pre-wetting. ght ice on roadways is magnesium chloride. Magnesium chloride has a practical working temperature of -15 to -25 degrees and is capable of attracting moisture directly from the air. It is very af- e City currently use a liquid form of magnesium chloride to pre-treat our salt in colder temperatures. With over 176 miles of roadway and some 860 in- e City relies on the police department | 5900 167TH AVE NW RAMSEY, MN and phone calls from citizens to alert the Public Works 763.753.2544 a rway quors Department to problem areas that may appear because of YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD LIQUOR STORE c can also cause slip- LIKE US ON FACEBOOK pery areas by tracking the salt out of an intersection or by packing down the snow before the salt has a chance to work. Maintenance crews do initial salting as they are er a storm and sometimes prob- COLDEST BEER HERE lem areas occur before they can get back to complete the FAIRWAY LIQUORS DELIVERS salting operation. THURS THROUGH SAT If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Pub- $5 DELIVERY FEE. $20 MINIMUM. lic Works Superintendent Grant Riemer at 763-433-9863. Great Selection Competitive Prices Locally Owned GREAT SELECTION | LOW PRICES | LOCALLY OWNED 12 Ramsey Resident ¤ November/December 2015