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the sun gradually lowers in the sky in the Northern
Hemisphere during the fall, cold arctic and polar air
masses intrude farther and farther south into the United
States. Disturbances forming along the boundary between
the cold polar air and the relatively warm, tropical air
sometimes turn into winter storms. When conditions are
right, these storms can strike hard, leaving snow, sleet
and ice over all or parts of the northeast. When they do, Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance crews will be ready to respond 24-hours a day to snowy and icy conditions. Maintenance workers understand the importance of keeping the highway open and ice and snow free. It’s a top priority at the Turnpike. It’s what Turnpike maintenance crews do best. To help improve their response to severe winter weather, Turnpike crews will be armed with the latest state-of-the-art winter maintenance materials and equipment used for reducing the dangers inherent in winter traveling. Several Turnpike maintenance facilities will be making their own liquid salt (salt brine) this year. Recently purchased salt brine production systems (generators) will be used throughout the entire Turnpike system. A salt brine generator produces approximately 2,000 gallons of liquid salt per hour from a combination of 23% rock salt and 2,000 gallons of water. The liquid salt will be dispensed through new Tyler Liquid Anti-Icing Distributors. A Liquid Anti-Icing Distributor is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment. This elliptically shaped, frame-mounted, polyurethane tank can be easily slipped on and off the rear of any one of the Turnpike’s existing fleet of trucks. Liquid Anti-Icing Distributors, sometimes referred to as dispensers, can hold up to 1,000 gallons of anti-icing material (salt brine, calcium chloride, or magnesium chloride). "We’ve never used spray trucks nor liquid chemical applications for anti-icing," said Turnpike Director of Maintenance Robert Wallett. "Applying liquid chemical (salt brine, calcium chloride, or magnesium chloride) to the road’s surface before snow or freezing rain starts to fall will make our operations more effective and efficient." Liquid salt brine applications are much more effective than solid applications in preventing ice from forming a bond with the road surface. "It puts the chemical where you want it and it stays there," noted Wallett. Because liquid salt applications go directly on the roadway and not in the drainage ditch, they are less harmful to the environment. "Anti-icing is by far more effective. If you get out before it snows, it’s a lot easier than waiting untill after it arrrives,"said Wallett. "It buys you some time." An improved modified V-Box
is another piece of winter maintenance equipment the
Turnpike has added to its arsenal to combat snow and ice.
It works in conjunction with the new Zero Velocity
Spreader. This box, which sits in the bed of double-axle
truck, holds rock salt material and moves it to the rear
of the truck via a belt drive. Turnpike Equipment
Operations Manager Michael McClurkin said, "It makes
operations a lot safer for our truck operators. The V-box
allows them to spread chemical while driving beneath
overpasses without worrying about raising the truck bed
up and down, helping them to keep their focus on
driving." The Turnpike pre-wets rock salt with
calcium cloride because wet particles adhere to the
roadway better and activate more quickly. |
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| The new Tyler Zero Velocity Spreader, attached to the rear of the truck, blows material (pre-wet rock salt) out the back of the truck in the opposite direction and at precisely the same speed as the trucks travel speed. This improves safety for the Turnpike operator as well as the Turnpike motorist, because it reduces the difference in speed between the salt truck and surrounding traffic. This method uses 40 percent less material and places the material accurately at spreading speeds 2 to3 times faster than conventional spreaders (spinners). |  |
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placing the material directly where it is needed, it
reduces the impacts on surrrounding vegetation and ground
water and by applying less material, corrosive impacts to
vehicles, bridges and roads is lessened. "We’re
trying to do our best to limit the use of
"anti-skids (sand, or small stones mixed with rock
salt) to conditions that warrant it such as sustained
temperatures of less than 20 degrees," said
McClurkin. Because less material is needed with the zero
velocity spreader, less sand and chemical are placed into
the environment. It also saves operators time re-loading
the equipment. All Turnpike winter maintenance trucks are equipped with computerized control systems that regulate precise amounts of chemical needed to be applied to the highway. Turnpike District V Maintenance Superintendent Mike Haney commented, "Our drivers have less levers and settings now. Basically everything is at their fingertips via an electronic digital readout. We’ve made their life a lot less complicated allowing them to focus on plowing, salting, and driving rather than operating the systems. This will help ensure their safety as well as the traveling public." |
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WINTER DRIVING The leading cause of death during winter storms is transportation accidents. Preparing your vehicle for the winter season and knowing how to react if stranded or lost on the road are the keys to safe winter driving. BEFORE. . .
DURING. . . If trapped in a car during a Blizzard:
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