Winter Roads (Anchorage, Kenai, Bethel: work, home, snow)

[Nephler]

So driving around today in our salted slushy snow I was wondering. How are the roads treated there? Meaning, are they salt and sanded, just sanded or just plowed?

I really dislike our roads being salted to melt the snow/ice. I think that driving on/in the slush has more dangers that driving on hard pack snow. That and the runoff of salt into the watershed isn't good either.

[mal_flisk]

Mainly plowed and sanded here in Anchorage.

[Nephler]

Thanks, I'm guessing that if salt isn't used in Anchorage, then it's not used hardly anywhere else. I hate salt!

[warptman]

They mix calcium chloride in with the sand here in Bethel.

[Nephler]

That's a heck of a lot better than sodium/salt warptman. Works in the colder temps also.

[Rance]

They mix a little down my way as well. I think more to keep the bulk pile thawed so they can dump it into the sander. Keeps it from freezing into big chunks. They use the sand at intersections, hills and winding corners near the Kenai River. But not so much on the straight streches.

[Nephler]

So I'm guessing that it can get a bit bumpy on the stretches with ice potholes (holes in the ice down to pavement/gravel).
Nice how the potholes on gravel roads fill-in with snow and ice.

[TEEPEEMAKER]

I love the ice filled potholes here. No salt thank goodness. They sand (the locals call it rock) the roads when it gets icy. We joke about the size of the so called sand.
Don't you love driving on that lovely, wavy stuff after it melts a little all day, then refreezes and rattles your teeth out of your skull all the way home?

[Nephler]

Originally Posted by TEEPEEMAKER

Don't you love driving on that lovely, wavy stuff after it melts a little all day, then refreezes and rattles your teeth out of your skull all the way home?

Your teeth, hands, arms, nuts'n'bolts, you name it, it rattles. At least with washboard dirt roads in summer you can get up to speed and sortof skim across em.

[Rance]

Originally Posted by Nephler

So I'm guessing that it can get a bit bumpy on the stretches with ice potholes (holes in the ice down to pavement/gravel).
Nice how the potholes on gravel roads fill-in with snow and ice.

Well we have a paved highway. And it's in fair shape. So really no potholes. Some of the side roads can get rough because they are gravel...but in my area they grade them so they are pretty good to.