New Technology Keeps Bridges Ice-Free
By: Danielle Todesco
Updated: December 5, 2007
The Marsha Sharp freeway is ready for those icy conditions this winter.
The fly-over bridges near 50th Street and Brownfield Highway are now equipped with anti-icing technology. Censors in the pavement detect the humidity and temperature.
When it gets to be snowy conditions, little sprinklers on the guard rails spray a chemical called 'magnesium chloride' on the roadway.
As drivers pass, their tires spread the chemical over the road preventing ice from forming.
Penny Mason from TxDOT says this system should work well to prevent freezing...
"This is way before anything freezes. So, we're putting the material on the roadway before we have a situation."
The freeway is set to open for drivers in late December. And the same equipment is being installed at the 19th Street Phase 2 project as well.
