LITTLE ROCK — Crews at the Arkansas Department of Transportation's North Little Rock Salt House were busy this week preparing for winter weather, mixing salt brine in 500-gallon batches with a target of 24,000 gallons on hand. The roads are treated with a beet juice-infused salt brine solution.
The process begins when beet juice-treated salt is poured into a hopper and combined with water, creating a brine that is used to pre-treat roadways. The addition of beet juice helps the solution work more effectively in colder temperatures, preventing ice and snow from bonding to the road surface.
The beet juice solution remains effective in temperatures as low as -25°C, making it a more efficient alternative to standard salt brine. Additionally, the beet juice mixture is less harmful to the environment. The beets used in the solution are sugar beets, not the red or purple variety commonly associated with the word.
This method, which has been adopted by many states, helps reduce road damage and minimizes the environmental impact on waterways due to the reduced use of corrosive salt.
