TxDOT is preparing for this winter storm with a brine treatment despite a rainy forecast.
As KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding pointed out this week: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Interim Director of Public Works is not impressed.
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) trucks were spotted delivering their liquid brine mix to bridges and overpasses Friday as part of preparations for an approaching winter storm.
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That work actually started Thursday.
“We’re on it. We’re prepared. We’ve been monitoring this system, at least for the last couple of weeks,” a TxDOT spokesperson said, reassuring the public about their readiness.
However, not everyone is convinced the brine treatment will be effective.
While TxDOT is actively working to treat roads, resources are stretched thin across six counties. And some criticism has popped up about the Houston road treatment plan.
One public works official question the timing and effectiveness of the brine application, especially given the rainy forecast.
“You can’t use brine when it’s raining, because it’s just going to wash it away,” said John McClory, Interim Director of Pittsburgh Public Works.
Critics argue that applying brine before rain could severely reduce its effectiveness, essentially wasting time and resources.
A TxDOT representative responded, “That’s why that operation has been continuing. It’s ongoing again. We started yesterday, we start again today, and we will continue up until the event actually hits us,” Barbi Hall, a TXDOT spokesperson said.
TxDOT held a meeting Friday afternoon to discuss ongoing preparations as Houston braces for the storm.
Hall said that if and when bridges, overpasses, and surface roads freeze, traction augmenting sand trucks will be dispatched.
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