Oregon to try rock salt for snow removal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon has long avoided the use of rock salt for snow removal but now it plans a five-year pilot project to use salt strategically on two routes typically hard-hit by winter storms.
The Oregonian reports it obtained a state Transportation Department document that says the agency wants "another tool in the toolbox" to keep roads clear.
Transportation Department spokesman Dave Thompson acknowledges that rock salt is "stuff we said we wouldn't use in the past." However, he says occasional use would help make for "consistent highway conditions" between Oregon and neighboring states that use salt.
The plan calls for using solid rock salt on an 11-mile stretch of Interstate 5 where it crosses the Siskiyou Pass at the California border, and along 120 miles of U.S. Highway 95 between the Nevada and Idaho borders.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
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