by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
As Old Man Winter continues to rage, Sartell is set for salt, with 600 tons of the stuff ordered right after the first of the year.
The salt is now mixed in a new salt-and-water mixing machine and applied to roads as a brine solution, said Public-Works Director John Kothenbeutel to the council during its Jan. 9 meeting.
“It seems to be working really good right now,” he said of the new brine-application method.
The 23-percent watery salt brine is applied to roads, and once on the road surface, it doesn’t let falling snow stick to the roads. That way, the snow just “peels” right off when the snowplows get to work on it, he noted.
Generally, when three or more inches of snow fall, the public-works department puts all snow-removal equipment to work, but there are exceptions, Kothenbeutel noted.
There are no two snowflakes alike, they say, and the same is true of snowfalls, Kothenbeutel said.
Snowfalls vary widely in duration of fall, moisture content and so many other factors. In some cases, if snow falls in start-and-stop waves, it’s not wise to plow all the snow, only to have to plow the same streets over again a few hours later, he noted.
Sartell Public-Works Director John Kothenbeutel
