Beet juice offers alternative solution to snow fighting

By Lisa Mussman
Public Affairs Manager for northwest Kansas

For decades, KDOT has used a combination of sand, salt and salt brine as part of their snow fighting efforts, but crews in parts of northwest Kansas have added a new tool to their arsenal in recent years: Beet juice.

Beet juice is an agricultural by-product from the process to make goods such as table sugar and cattle feed. As a standalone product, beet juice has little to no melting properties, but when mixed with salt brine, it will help the brine continue to work at lower temperatures to treat icy and snow-packed surfaces. Regular salt brine begins to lose effectiveness at around 15 degrees Fahrenheit. When beet juice is added, the freezing point can be lowered by another 15 to 20 degrees.

Colby Subarea Supervisor Brad Reeh says his crew has been using the product for about five years and has had success with it.

“We have been mixing it at a 10 percent ratio with brine and only using it when the temps are going to be below 15 degrees.” Reeh said. “When combining it with brine and salt and sand, it seems to stick to the snow-pack better and keep the product working on the road longer.”

That stickiness and staying power is important in allowing KDOT crews more time to work on other routes if needed. But don’t expect to see the roads turning red or purple. The solution is actually brown in color and can be easily washed off vehicles.

While beet juice is still relatively new to Kansas, it has been used in the Northeast and Upper Midwest since the early 2000's. It is among a handful of alternative products including molasses, beer waste, pickle brine and cheese brine that other departments of transportation are experimenting with to reduce salt usage.

Movie magic: KDOT produces training video

Most of us aren’t thinking about snow and ice in August, but that’s what several KDOT employees had on their minds last summer as they filmed an educational video.

Retired Equipment Operator Specialist Miguel Padua, left, and Equipment Mechanic Senior Steve Schmidt mix brine.

August was pretty warm for making brine, but to help future KDOT employees learn how to do it, that’s exactly what Field Maintenance Manager Jim Frye had a crew do at the North/East Complex in Wichita.

Frye oversaw a training video about how to make salt brine. The video, when completed, will be featured on the Bureau of Maintenance’s page on KDOT’s intranet as part of employee training. Frye said recently that he thinks the video will be available soon to employees.

Retired Equipment Operator Specialist Miguel Padua loads salt to mix brine.

Bret Mathias, Media Production Technician in Support Services, shot the video with retired Equipment Operator Specialist Miguel Padua, who worked in Wichita, and Equipment Mechanic Senior Steve Schmidt, who works in Salina.

Retired Equipment Operator Specialist Miguel Padua overlooks the machine that mixes brine. 

Padua and Schmidt made brine on camera to teach others the proper techniques to do so.

“This is something we have wanted to do for a while,” Frye said of this particular training video.

KDOT spends a lot of time training new Equipment Operator Trainees.

Districts across the state also offer “snowfighter training” to new crew members to help them learn the ins and outs of pre-treating and plowing roads.

Winter weather recap: Mid-week snow storm photos

Parts of the state saw snow on Tuesday, while some waited for snow that never came. According to the Topeka National Weather Service in twitter page, there was limited moisture in the upper levels of the atmosphere. The snow was “eaten,” when the snow sublimated, or dried up from the dry air between the surface and 5,000 feet. 

The National Weather Service in Topeka shared this post about what happened
to the snow that was expected for parts of the state. 

In the counties that did receive snow fall totals, KDOT crews were hard at work, treating the roads. Here are some photos from the field.

Crews from southwest Kansas treat roads along K-96 from Dighton to Ness City earlier this week. 

Crews from northwest Kansas treat roads along U.S. 36 in Phillips County during the winter storm. 

Crews from north central Kansas work to clear the roads around Concordia during Tuesday's storm.

One of our Public Affairs Managers from north central Kansas had the opportunity to ride along with a KDOT crew from Concordia as they worked to clear the roads. In each of the newer trucks, monitors are mounted to provide real-time information that crews can use to monitor how much brine remains in the tanks, and the air and road temperatures.  

Monitors like this one are mounted inside newer KDOT trucks to allow crews to see how effective the equipment is working. 

According to Jim Frye, KDOT’s Field Maintenance Manager, KDOT crews rely on this information to understand how to treat the roads. Surface temperature is an important factor. If a road is less than 32 degrees and moisture is in the area, the roads can be treated. Bridges freeze faster than other road surfaces because the air flow beneath can cause any moisture to freeze a lot faster. For example, if the regular road surface is 34 degrees, the surface of a bridge could actually be somewhere around 29 degrees and the bridge could be treated.

A second monitor is used by KDOT crews to show what the road and air temperature is. In this photo, the air temperature was 12 degrees, while the road temperature was warmer, at 17 degrees. This monitor also shows how much brine solution is left in the tank. 

The air temperature is also important, especially if its bitterly cold, or the wind is blowing.

KDOT recently acquired new trucks for crews to use throughout the year. We got a chance to ride along on a test drive, so check back next week for an in-depth look at how KDOT uses technology to combat winter weather. 

A view from the passenger seat looking into the rearview mirror shows the wing plow, a second, smaller plow that extends off the side of the truck, in action as it works to help clear to roads.

More winter weather could be on the way this weekend, so remember to drive for conditions. If the snow arrives, give our crews plenty of room to work. And check out www.kandrive.org for updated road conditions. 

Winter ready Wednesdays: Salt Brine

Winter is coming. Despite the mild autumn weather the majority of the state is still experiencing, snow and ice will most likely arrive in our forecast. Fortunately, KDOT has an effective tool to help combat slick roads: Salt brine

Salt brine is a proactive approach to battling inclement weather. Last year, KDOT used approximately 5 million gallons to prepare road surfaces for snow and ice. Each of the 112 sub areas in Kansas has at least 1,000-10,000 gallon storage tanks.  But how is this salty mixture created and what determines how and when it is used?

Salt Brine is typically created by filling a mixing tank with rock salt and then adding water. 

The water then percolates through the rock salt. 

The salt/water mixture overflows into a holding tank, where it is measured with a hydrometer. If the brine reads 23% salt (or 91 % saturation) it is ready to be used on the roads.

Salt Brine is applied to the road surface. It is most effective when it has a chance to stick to the road after the water evaporates. 

KDOT doesn’t rely on salt brine for every weather event. It is most effective when it has a chance to stick to the roads after the brine water evaporates. If there is a rain changing to snow weather event, using salt brine wouldn’t work as effectively, the precipitation would wash it away.

Because the salt brine is only the most effective until temperatures reach 25 degrees, some areas around the state are starting to use sugar beet juice mixed with the salt brine. Beet juice, when added to the salt brine can help melt ice at near-zero degree temperatures.

As the winter months move in, KDOT will use a variety of methods to clear roads and infrastructure and help Kansans travel safely.  For the next several Wednesdays, we will share with you more ways that KDOT works to keep Kansas moving during inclement weather.

For up to date road conditions, check kandrive.org or dial 511.