Staff photo by Fritz Busch Brown County Highway 13 just south of New Ulm was clear of ice and snow Tuesday afternoon. Brown County Highway Engineer Wayne Stevens told commissioners Tuesday that the Brown County Highway Department uses pure salt on the 20 miles of concrete roads in the county. A mixture of 25% salt and 75% sand is used on asphalt county roads.

NEW ULM — Brown County commissioners discussed winter sanding and salting of county roads again Tuesday during Brown County Highway Engineer Wayne Stevens’ monthly update.

Stevens citied the county highway department snow removal policy approved March 31, 1995 by the county board.

“The objective is to open up one wheel track on all highways with over 400 vehicles per day within 48 hours of a snow fall,” Stevens said. “The county does not have a ‘bare pavement’ policy where crews continue to work until the pavement is free of all snow and ice.”

Stevens said the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) policy is to get to bare pavement as soon as possible, using more salt on roads than the county highway department does.

“We use a mixture of 25% salt and 75% sand. We pre-wet the salt-sand mixture so it doesn’t bounce off the road when we put it on. Plus it activates the salt quicker,” he added. “Salt generally doesn’t work as well under 15 degrees.”

Stevens said the county highway department doesn’t want to sand concrete roads due to damage it can cause when joints expand in the summer.

Commissioner Scott Windschitl said he read online information about salting roads and learned salt was much less effective below 15 degrees F.

“Salt also affects vehicles and roadside vegetation,” Windschitl said. “A third of a teaspoon of salt virtually ruins five gallons of water. Although it would be nice to have more dry pavement to drive on, I don’t see expanding salt use as a good use of funds. I feel over-using salt would be more concerning to me.”

Stevens said county crews only put salt on asphalt roads at stop signs and that salting roads on a windy day can cause more ice problems when it blows around and freezes at night.

He said county crews pre-treat concrete roads with salt brine that works well but sunshine melting ice and snow on asphalt has saved the county from using salt.

“In addition, if you use salt and it turns ice to slush, you have to go back and remove it,” Stevens said. “If we used more salt on roads, it would cost at least $100 a ton and cost $8,000 for one trip around county roads. And more salt use means more storage than we have.”

He said an option that could be done if the county board wanted it, would be to pre-treat CR 27 between New Ulm and Sleepy Eye.

Commissioner Tony Berg said he talked to a couple of truckers who said they like to see sand on county roads so they can stop at intersections.

Commissioner Brian Braun, who has spoken in favor of more salt to treat county roads, was not at the meeting.

Commissioners unanimously approved:

• Awarding a $348,413.25 contract to low-bidder Mathiowetz Construction Co. for culvert replacement and approach work on 200th Street over County Ditch 3 in Sigel Township, motion by Borchert, seconded by Veerkamp. Funding sources are town bridge funds and $10,000 in Sigel Township funds. The project is scheduled to begin on or before July 10, 2023 and be completed within 20 working days. The project may be delayed until fall due to box culvert supply issues.

• Setting a March 28, 2023 letting date for surface rehabilitation projects on CSAH 9 from the south county line to CSAH 18, CSAH 11 from Essig to CSAH 29 and from the south county line to CSAH 20, CSAH 20 from CSAH 13 to TH 155 and from CSAH 8 to TH 4, and CSAH 24 from CSAH 13 to TH 15 and Searles. A motion by Commissioner Berg was seconded by Borchert.

• Setting 2023 spring road restrictions that usually begin in late February or early March, motion by Berg, seconded by Borchert. Proposed 2023 spring road restrictions are the same as 2022.