[kapie9969]

Do they still use salt on the roads in winter in MI? I had a friend who had a car with holes in the floor,he brought the car up from MI. This was many years ago.

[animatedmartian]

Yep.

[westernwilly]

Originally Posted by kapie9969

Do they still use salt on the roads in winter in MI? I had a friend who had a car with holes in the floor,he brought the car up from MI. This was many years ago.

Yes and no.
They use sand when they can, however this winter was like the old days and a lot of salt was laid.

[Driller1]

Now that it is spring we have weight restrictions on many roads that are not class A.

It is necessary....but, a pain.

We have people without water and can't move the big trucks.

[Jwo85]

Originally Posted by westernwilly

Yes and no.
They use sand when they can, however this winter was like the old days and a lot of salt was laid.

It's all salt here in metro Detroit. They can't use sand as it clogs the sewer system according to road commission.

[Diamond Dee]

Salt mainly here in the thumb and noticed a little sand also heard somewhere about sugar beet mix being used but I'm not sure.

[nordwulf]

Mostly sand here in Boyne City and the rest of NW Michigan. I much rather have snow-packed roads with sand than slushy salty crap. I imagine sand is a lot better for the environment as well, definitely much better for your car.

[MSwartz]

Originally Posted by Diamond Dee

Salt mainly here in the thumb and noticed a little sand also heard somewhere about sugar beet mix being used but I'm not sure.

I recall reading something about that in the Bay City Times 5 or so years ago. Seems like they use a sugar beet juice/ road salt combo in Frankenmuth, the beet juice coming from Michigan Sugar Co. which is in BC. Pretty sure it's just road salt in BC and Saginaw except for the Zilwaukee Bridge and a few other specialty areas which require chemical de-icing agents.

http://blog.mlive.com/watershedwatch...ice_on_fr.html

[chiroptera]

All or at least almost all salt as far as I can tell in Genesee and surrounding counties. Mainly because it's cheap, trucked from just across the border in Ontario, Canada where there are some huge salt mines.

There were many extremely cold days this past winter where the Road Commission couldn't do anything with the terribly icy roads because it was too cold (salt is ineffective when it gets down to single digits.) I've lived in other snowy states where salt, gravel and liquid de-icers were all used and they're better environmentally, much gentler on vehicles, plus more effective in a wider range of conditions.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by kapie9969

Do they still use salt on the roads in winter in MI? I had a friend who had a car with holes in the floor,he brought the car up from MI. This was many years ago.

I remember cars with the floors rusted right though, but I haven't seen one in a long time.