InfrastructureGreen highway snow and ice control cuts the chemicals, reduces cost

Published 31 December 2014

The United States spends $2.3 billion each year to remove highway snow and ice, plus another $5 billion to mitigate the hidden costs associated with the process. This is not counting the costs for city and rural road maintenance. The hidden costs include long-term impacts of salt, sand, and chemical deicers on the natural environment and road infrastructure as well as short-term impacts on semi-trailer trucks and other vehicles from rust and corrosion. Cold-climate researchers show the benefits of clearing the road with green alternatives to the salt, sand, and chemicals typically used for highway snow and ice control.

Ice-free pavement. “Smart snowplows.” Vegetable juice ice-melt. Cold-climate researchers at Washington State University are clearing the road with green alternatives to the salt, sand, and chemicals typically used for highway snow and ice control.

As a nation, “we are kind of salt addicted, like with petroleum, as it’s been so cheap and convenient for the last 50 years,” said Xianming Shi, WSU associate professor in civil and environmental engineering.

This winter, however, road salt is in short supply across the northern states. In some regions prices have increased 10-30 percent since last year, said Shi. Also, there are public concerns about salt’s impact on the environment and how this might affect future generations.

“In 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported alarming levels of sodium and chloride in groundwater along the East Coast,” Shi said. “Once salt exceeds the legal threshold, there are increased health risks and you can’t use it for drinking water.”

Shi is assistant director of the recently established Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates. A WSU release reports that it is the only center in the United States studying cold climate “road ecology,” which includes green snow and ice control plus issues with wildlife crossings, fish passages, dust and the use of recycled materials in pavement.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation at $2.8 million for two years, the center is a collaborative effort between the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Montana State University, and WSU. Liv Haselbach is the WSU site director.

Shi presented his findings on environmental stewardship practices for winter roadway operations at the American Public Works Association Western Snow and Ice Conference held in Loveland, Colorado in September.

A spendy enterprise
The United States spends $2.3 billion each year to remove highway snow and ice, plus another $5 billion to mitigate the hidden costs associated with the process. This is not counting the costs for city and rural road maintenance, said Shi.

The hidden costs include long-term impacts of salt, sand, and chemical deicers on the natural environment and road infrastructure as well as short-term impacts on semi-trailer trucks and other vehicles from rust and corrosion.

In Washington State, for example, road crews apply roughly four tons of salt per lane mile per winter season, said Shi.