Anti-Icing: The county's preemptive punch
<<Sounds of truck plowing>> Narrator Says: Most winters in King County, this is the scene for at least part of the season. Snow falls, turns to ice, and creates major headaches for anyone trying to get around the roughly 2,100 miles of roadway King County maintains. Only Mother Nature knows when it will fall, leaving the King County Road Services Division to do its best to predict the weather, and then work to keep roads drivable during and after the storm. It starts with preemptive work. The county has five of these trucks, called ‘Anti-Icers’, because the material used is laid down beforehand and intended prevent snow and ice from getting too much of a foothold. Will Fogelberg, a Maintenance Supervisor explains the process. King County Maintenance Supervisor Will Fogelberg Says: Anti-Icing, when we get ready to put that down, it typically has to be pretty dry out, cold, trending weather conditions going down. Forecast of precipitation or at least fog. We can go out and get that on the hills and the sharp corners. And it saves us a lot of time when we get that down prior to a snow storm. Typically snow adheres right to the road surface if it doesn't have the Anti-Icer on it. And this Anti-Icer breaks the bond. So when we do get a heavy snow even though it's 25 degrees, 28 degrees, somewhere in there. Our guys can go out with snowplows and scrape that right off. Narrator Says: When snow and ice have fallen, county crews prioritize which roads to clear first based on a variety of factors. The first priorities are major arterials, metro and school bus routes, emergency routes, as well as access roads to freeways and Park&Ride lots. This year, you could say the county is more prepared than ever as it has increased its capacity of anti-icing materials and equipment and has positioned them in more locations around the county. That will allow for faster responses and more efficient anti-icing operations. King County Maintenance Supervisor Will Fogelberg Says: Currently right now, we have ordered and have on-hand four brand new storage tanks that will break our area up and get these storage tanks closer together. And what that does is decreases the time for the trucks to go fill up and get right back on the road. And also along with that we have four trucks that are being set up with saddle tanks this year that will actually be mounted on our sanders. And it actually integrates the Anti-Icer in with the sand that we're putting down on the road. And the theory behind that is it coats the sand with the Anti-Icer, it hits the snow that's on the road, and it hits and actually burns and penetrates into the snow which restores traction to the cars better and helps also with the melting process. Narrator Says: County workers would like to remind the public that the anti-icing liquid is safe for cars, and not harmful to the environment. The product King County uses is called Geomelt C. It’s 100% organic, and also not harmful to vegetation or the road itself. Fogelberg says as a citizen, to please make sure you do all you can to be ready and stay safe. King County Maintenance Supervisor Will Fogelberg Says: We're getting more and more prepared. I'd advise the citizens of King County, as with any event, drive with caution. Take more time to get to work or home or whatever you're up to. Be prepared for emergencies. There's just not guarantee what's around the next corner. And we do our best keep it safe for you. And they can always call our front desk that works 24/7. And if we can't catch it, they can help us get that fixed. Narrator Says: The King County Roads 24-hour Help Line is a good resource for county residents who may need to report hazardous roadways. The help line can be reached at (206) 296-8100, or toll-free at 1-800 KC ROADS.
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