Ramsey Resident - 2016 - November/December

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Salt and Ice Control the process. . Sand is primarily used as an abrasive to provide tem- Sand on its own does not have ice-melting capability porary traction. Sand works best on hard packed snow where it can embed itself into the snow and remain there. When used on ice, sand has a tendency to bounce when it comes out of the truck and end up at the side of the road. 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 Salt has Pure salt is used on all of Ramseys primary roads and intersections to help control ice. - grees but, with the introduction of salt, the freezing temperature is lowered to the 15 to 20 degree range. - tively the chemical will work. As temperatures go down, the amount of deicer needed to melt a given Before a dry de-icing chemical can act, it must dissolve into a brine solution. Brine is the term used from snow on the road surface or from water vapor in the air (humidity) . . . to create this moisture re- low temperatures many of these sources are not available. make brine and speeds up the melting process. In addition, the wet salt has less of a tendency to bounce with the use of pre-wetting. working temperature of -15 to -25 degrees and is capable of attracting moisture directly from the air. It is very chloride to pre-treat our salt in colder temperatures. With over 176 miles of roadway and some 860 intersections, the City relies on the Police Department and phone calls from citizens to alert the Public Works Department to problem areas that may occur because slippery 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 - lem areas occur before they can get back to complete the salting operation. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Public Works Superintendent Grant Riemer at 763-433- 9863. 16Ramsey Resident November/December 2016