I read this story a few days ago in the Washington Post. Today, I drove up to West Yellowstone to ski. It was obvious I was following a brine truck. From about the north Rexburg exit, the road had the brine strips that most of you are familiar with. They were dry at that point, but turned to liquid by about Ashton. I assumed I would be passing the brine truck soon, but did not overtake it until about Mack's Inn. I found myself remembering the advice in the Post to not drive behind a brine truck and at the same time wondering how much brine one truck could carry.
By the time I arrived in West Yellowstone, my car had a coating of salt like a layer of confectioner's sugar on a pastry. The first thing I did when I got home was to go to the car wash where I devoted special attention to the undercarriage and wheelwells.
This liquid brine mixture is more corrosive than normal road salt due to its liquid application form as well as its composition of sodium chloride and magnesium chloride. If you ride in winter, you have probably seen these same salt deposits on your bicycle. Like a car owner, you can ignore them at your own peril.
To pre-treat roads, a liquid salt "brine" mixture of 23% salt and 77% water is sprayed as an anti-icing measure and helps to prevent dangerous road conditions. (copyright Lisa Bolton/The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/worse-than-salt-brine-sprayed-on-roads-will-munch-your-car-to-pieces/2015/02/22/b89294e6-b949-11e4-aa05-1ce812b3fdd2_story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment