BRICK — In the few winter storms the area has seen this year, one thing township residents haven’t seen is sand on the roadways.
But township officials aren’t neglecting their job to keep motorists safe — they’re just using a new liquid calcium/salt mixture to prepare the roads for slick conditions.
The new mixture will replace the previously used sand/salt mixture and will help lower costs and be more sensitive to the environment, according to a township press release.
“The switch to this new melting agent was made because three important criteria were met: it improves motorist safety, it lowers costs to our taxpayers and it is better for the environment. In a nutshell, this is good government,” Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said.
Scarpelli said that while the usual sand won’t be on the roadways this year, there will be less ice and more blacktop on the streets with this new liquid calcium mix. As salt is spread on township streets, the liquid calcium is sprayed from tanks on township trucks. The mixture is a more effective melting agent because it adheres to the street surface better and prevents the formation of ice and hard-packed snow.
The liquid calcium costs 65 cents a gallon and reduces the amount of salt required by approximately 40 percent, according to the press release. Additional savings are realized from the elimination of purchasing sand and avoiding the costs associated with cleaning the sand from the streets in the spring.
Glenn Campbell of the Public Works Department said it took two months to clean sand from the streets last year. In 2004, the township used 1,289 tons of salt at a cost of $44,367, and 1,030 tons of sand at a cost of $10,000.
It’s hard to say how the cost will compare to the new salt/liquid calcium mixture because the winter isn’t over yet, however, Campbell said the township expects to use 40 percent less salt than last year. And outside contractors won’t have to be brought in to help remove packed snow from the roads as they were last year.
The township researched their options when it came to preparing for this winter by speaking with other municipalities who use the substance. The liquid calcium is used on the Garden State Parkway and by the Ocean County Roads Department, as well as the townships of Cherry Hill, Howell and Freehold, among others, the press release states.
To date, 11 trucks in the township’s fleet have been equipped with tanks for the liquid calcium. The township plans to equip 10 more in the near future. In addition, there is a 5,000-gallon storage tank at the Department of Public Works’ yard.
The township is responsible for plowing 1,687 residential streets totaling approximately 390 miles. To coat all of the township’s streets one time with the new liquid melting agent mixture would require about 800 gallons of liquid calcium.
The Ocean County Road Department is responsible for plowing 51.71 miles of county-owned roads in Brick Township. State highways account for another 15.7 miles in Brick Township and are plowed by the state Department of Transportation.
— Jennifer Dome