Akron crews get creative in battling ice in extreme cold

AKRON -- The colder it gets, the tougher it is to melt the ice and snow. The results, even with salt on the roads, can still land drivers upside down.

Akron's battle plan? Getting creative, using a green salt with a magnesium chloride combination.

"We can use that salt in combination with white salt to a lot lower temperatures," Steve Batdorf, acting superintendent of highway maintenance, said.

That is not the only weapon in the arsenal. They also track salt trucks using GPS, and then keep tabs on their routes to see what's working.

"It helps us to determine how far we are along on the primary and secondary routes," Batdorf said.

In extreme temperatures like Friday, it's time to get out the mixer -- in this case, the only blender in the area that mixes beet juice, salt and calcium chloride.

"This hot mix allows us to put the brine solution on the roadway for anti-icing at a lot lower temperatures," Batdorf said. In doing so, they stretch the salt supply.

"People should us caution about black ice," Batdorf said.

Black is always dangerous, leaving road crews looking for help from Mother Nature.

Batdorf said, "Twenty degrees is pretty good. We can pretty much keep things pretty wet with 20 degrees."