MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OH (WOIO) -
Is it the wave of the future to keep roads free of snow and ice?
Middleburg Heights is using a product called ClearLane this winter instead of rock salt. Mayor Gary Starr is so far impressed with the results.
"While it's a little more up front, we're using less of it, so there is a volume discount," Mayor Starr said.
As the Mayor points out, ClearLane costs about $10 per ton than salt, but computers on city plows show a significant decrease in the amount of ClearLane used compared to previous salt applications. Less product used means a reduction in fuel costs and labor, add it all up and the Mayor says the city has saved between $7,000 and $10,000 already this winter.
And the product boasts it is green in more ways than just it's appearance. Rock salt is corrosive to plows, and tree lawns and the run-off is damaging to streams and rivers.
ClearLane is recognized by the EPA for safer chemistry. There is hope of another cost savings in the spring because ClearLane is supposedly not as corrosive as rock salt.
"In the spring we're always repairing tree lawns and trees because of the damage from rock salt," said the Mayor.
It all sounds great, but does it work as well as salt? Better, is the belief because it's effective even in colder temps and can also be used a pre treatment and that eliminates the cost and messy production of brine.
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