is Coeur d' Alene area still salting roads? (Sandpoint, Kootenai: living in, cost)

[mrunik]

Are Coeur d' Alene and surrounding NID areas still salting roads or have they moved to other methods that won't cause rust out issues with vehicles? I still remember what Michigan salt and brine did to my parents vehicles, turning them into rust buckets in a few years.

[f5fstop]

I grew up in MI and yes, I remember after a few winters, vehicles in MI looked like they had been attacked by alligators.
However, Detroit sat a gigantic salt mine (took a tour when I was a kid...shows how old I am).

But newer cars don't rust like the old rust buckets due to zinc coating and other processes to stop rust, and it works.

In fact after not living in MI for many years, I moved back in 2005 for three years and had some heavy snow falls and drove through tons of salt and not one problem with rust and neighbors who had vehicles five years old (approx.) had no rust so that auto process to stop rust appears to work. (I will say these were all US manufactured vehicles since where I lived, Rochester Hills, I was one or two in the area of where I lived who didn't work for Chrysler, GM and even Ford.)

[nm9stheham]

IDOT has been trying some other compounds in recent years. They seem to put out a lot less road treatment compounds than other parts of the country and depend more on just plowing, at least in my limited ID winter driving (in the central mountains only).

[mrunik]

Yes I know that newer cars are more rust resistant, but I still see them rusting out especially in the quarter panel wheelhouse area. But if no one in NID is having issues with this, then I guess the treatment they're using now isn't that bad?

[Cnynrat]

I'm not really sure what the protocol is overall. For example, here in Bonner county I think the county takes a different approach than the city of Sandpoint, and then I think US95 may be treated differently than either of them.

From what I've seen, the county uses sand when/where roads become slick. I think the city does use a de-icer as a pre-treatment for some storms. I'm not sure what that compound is, but I would guess it's a salt solution. In spite of that, the roads in town are markedly worse than the county roads.

I believe the county also puts down a calcium chloride solution on dirt roads in the summer as a dust mitigation measure.

CdA/Kootenai could be very different.

Regardless, I don't see many cars made in the last 20 years rusting out. I really think the auto makers have gotten on top of that issue. Our '99 Ford pickup looks no worse for the wear after 4 winters up here.

Dave

[mrunik]

Thanks guys.

[elousv]

https://www.cdaid.org/612/department...w/brine-center

[mrunik]

Originally Posted by elousv

https://www.cdaid.org/612/department...w/brine-center

That was a great find. Thank you!!

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by elousv

https://www.cdaid.org/612/department...w/brine-center

Thanks for that. Cd'A is IMO the most advanced city I've been in. Plus the brine, they use snow dams on the plows. The dam is an adjustable gate that the driver can drop down to block the plow from pushing snow into an area, and when he's past that spot he lifts the dam/gate and the plow proceeds as usual.

That means that right after you're done clearing your driveway, a plow will NOT come by and dump a foot or more of plowed snow right where you cleared. Great idea, they've been doing this for years. Kudos to the city street department.

[redwood66]

All state and federal highways in Idaho are sprayed with a salt brine solution. Testing was done with rust inhibitor additives but it was not significantly better and very cost prohibitive.

The best recommendation is to run your car through the car washes with the undercarriage wash throughout the winter. If you don't, rust will happen eventually. For me I would rather have wet pavement and get a wash than a snow floor with ice underneath.