City of Novi using beet juice and brine mix for winter roads
Novi city trucks use beet juice and brine mixture on roads for winter
An environmentally friendly mixture has been a new tool for the City of Novi in preparation for winter storms.
NOVI, Mich. (FOX 2) - While we haven’t had any major winter storms yet — it’s still very early in the season.
In order to make sure the roads are as clear as possible, the city of Novi is using something you might actually have in your refrigerator.
Behind city trucks you 'll see a reddish-tinted liquid - made up of mainly beet juice.
"It’s just a natural product that we discovered is a great binder - it keeps the liquid on the pavement," said Jeff Herczeg, Novi director of Public Works.
The beet juice is mixed with calcium chloride which is commonly referred to as brine. It turns out the mixture is a winning combination for pre-treating roads before a winter storm hits.
"It’s two-fold," Herczeg said. "We can treat the salt coming out of the hoppers with just calcium chloride brine or we can mix it with beet juice and apply it to the roads directly - helps prevent the ice and snow from binding to the road."
The beet juice and brine mixture is also environmentally friendly.
"It’s not going to stain the vehicles, it is not going to stain the pavement - just like anything it rinses off a little bit," he said.
And while it is effective — it’s not perfect.
"When temperatures dip below 20 it’s really - nothing’s effective," he said. "Even salt for the most part, is tough to melt the ice and snow.
"It’s a common household product that turns out is great for winter maintenance."
