DELAWARE (1/11/2015) With a messy winter storm due due arrive in the state early Monday, DelDOT officials said today they are ready and waiting.
Spokesman Jim Westhoff released this breakdown of storm preparedness:
Salt and Brine
DelDOT primarily uses salt, along with salt/brine and salt/sand mixtures to melt ice and hard-packed snow.
• These materials lose effectiveness once temperatures reach the single digits or when it is raining.
• They are also less effective during rapid snow accumulation and when roads are being repeatedly plowed.
By the numbers
45,000 tons: DelDOT’s overall storage capacity for salt.
43,154 tons: The amount of salt that is currently stockpiled by DelDOT.
13,000 tons: An approximate amount of salt that DelDOT uses during a severe storm.
20: The number of DelDOT’s salt stockpiles throughout Delaware.
$18.3 million: The amount spent by DelDOT for storms in fiscal 2014.
98%: The percentage of Delaware’s roads that are DelDOT’s responsibility.
13,472: Number of lane miles that are DelDOT’s responsibility.
Pre-Treating the Roads
Prior to snow and ice events, DelDOT may pre-treat the highways across the state with liquid salt brine by tankers to reduce bonding of the snow to the pavement at the beginning of the storm event.
Road Priorities
To help with prioritizing, all of Delaware’s roadways are divided into categories:
1. Primary/arterial roads and transit routes receiving first and continuous attention (I-95, Route 13, Route 1, Route 202 etc.)
2. Secondary/collector, and local roads are plowed only after the primary/arterial roads are open and passable.
“Passable” roads can be driven upon, but are not necessarily clear of snow and ice.
Personnel
As many as 500 employees take part in snow removal operations. During severe storms, DelDOT supplements its operations with private contractors that help with snow removal on bus routes, sidewalks, along highway shoulders, and with the clearing of crossover areas and intersections.
Equipment
Statewide, about 450 state-owned vehicles are available for snow operations. This includes not only trucks with plows, but also graders, loaders and other tractors.