DelDOT Prepares Roads For Possible Ice/Snow Event

Crews in New Castle and Kent Counties are pre-treating roads

Dover -- Primary roads in New Castle and Kent Counties have been pre-treated with salt-and-water mixture known as brine, by crews from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) stationed there in advance of possible snow or ice accumulation.

Crews pre-treated the primary roads in New Castle and Kent Counties before the end of the day, Monday.

Sussex County is not forecast to receive any snow or ice, so supervisors there are monitoring conditions, while making sure they can quickly respond if the conditions change.

The tentative plans for tomorrow are:
* In New Castle County most of the crews will report to work shortly after midnight, depending on when the snow or frozen rain begins to fall, or if the forecast becomes more certain.

* In Kent County and Sussex Counties, supervisors will monitor forecasts and road conditions throughout the night, and respond as the situation changes.

These plans can change as conditions change.

Primary roads are multi-lane highways and some two-lane highways that carry heavy volumes of traffic between major destinations.

Examples of primary roads are:
* In New Castle County; Interstate 95 and Interstate 495
* In Kent County, Route1 and Route 113
* In Sussex County, Route 404, Route 13.

For pre-treatment, DelDOT typically uses a salt and water mixture called brine for pre-treating. Unlike straight salt, brine adheres to the road better, and will not be blown away by traffic or high winds.

Brine can be effective for days after it has been applied, depending on the amount of rain the road receives prior to any accumulation of snow or ice.

Dry, road salt is used as snow or ice begins to accumulate. Dry salt is effective in melting hard-packed snow or ice that has already formed, or to prevent a wet road from re-freezing.