City rolls out salt-sprayer for snowstorms

By Michael P. Walsh

Special to the Voice

Mayor Dorinda Borer on Jan. 14 unveiled the city’s new anti-icing sprayer for pretreating roads during storms.

The 1,000-gallon sprayer, which contains magnesium chloride, an anti-icing agent, is mounted on a Department of Public Works mason dump truck and applies a regulated amount of magnesium chloride liquid per roadway mile compared to many more pounds of granulated salt per roadway mile.

“Magnesium chloride is better for the environment and much more cost-effective than salt,” Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana said. “Most importantly, the liquid will increase roadway safety, reducing motor vehicle accidents during slippery conditions.”

West Haven’s EMD added that the same liquid is used by the state Department of Transportation to pretreat highways.

“We are integrating a more modern, safer, environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach toward road safety in snowstorms,” Borer said.

Magnesium chloride is typically applied to roadways 24-48 hours before a storm. When snow reacts with the liquid, the snow becomes water.

West Haven’s product also contains an anti-rust inhibitor.

The city stores the magnesium chloride liquid in two 3,000-gallon tanks at the DPW garage on Collis Street.

According to Fontana, West Haven has 130 miles of roadway surface, 561 roadways and 102 dead ends, but mostly roads on hills and around schools will receive the magnesium chloride treatment, he said.

Borer said the city plans to equip more DPW trucks with anti-icing sprayers.

West Haven has seven snow emergency routes.

When an official snow emergency is declared by Borer, usually in a major storm of at least 6 inches, a parking ban will run from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on both sides of Campbell and Savin avenues, Morgan Lane, Elm Street, Meloy Road, Second Avenue from Elm to Beach streets, and Main Street from Savin to Washington avenues.

Otherwise, once snow begins to fall, a parking ban is in effect on the even-numbered side of most roads, unless one is posted with a “No Parking” sign on the odd side.