Environment and logistics are factors in using salt or sand on local roads

By James Morgan, The Review, February 10, 2020

The debate over winter road maintenance and whether to use salt or sand to make icy roads safer usually recurs each winter.  When Champlain Township Council met on January 16, the topic came up again.

Mayor Normand Riopel said residents of Pattee Road and Greenlane Road had complained of “unfair sanding and salting.”  They alleged that other rural areas were getting salt applied to their roads while they were only getting sand.

Rock salt completely melts ice and snow while sand just improves traction for automobile tires.

“It’s a very challenging one,” said Champlain Township Public Works Director James McMahon.  He cited logistics and the price of materials as the main factors in how and where salt or sand is spread on municipal roads.

https://thereview.ca/2020/02/10/environment-and-logistics-are-factors-in-using-salt-or-sand-on-local-roads/