Icy roads are no match for beet juice 

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The North Dakota Department of Transportation stands out as one of a handful of states that is getting help from a common garden vegetable to make wintry roads safer for drivers.

For a long time, North Dakota treated its icy roads with dry salt or a mixture of salt and sand.

But after decades of watching those materials blow into ditches from passing cars and semis, the state decided to change its approach.

“We focus on trying to get the roads melted as quickly as possible,” said Shane Cleghorn, the DOT’s maintenance supervisor foreman.

It needed something that would stick to the pavement.

Enter beet juice. When crews mix it with saltwater, the sugars help form a sticky red brine that bonds to pavement when sprayed before storms.

The recipe is very important; it’s 80% saltwater brine and 20% beet juice.

“If you don’t have that percentage just right, you’re actually just applying straight water to the road and creating a worse condition,” said Cleghorn.

If the roads are covered with ice, the stickiness of this ice-fighting liquid leads to a quicker melt, and one that works in temperatures as low as 20 below zero.

One other thing: the brine’s red tint may show on vehicles, but Cleghorn said it won’t cause rust.

“A lot of times, that’s not the condition,” said Cleghorn. “We have that beet juice, and it’s less corrosive than just salt water itself.“

Finally, in a push for efficiency, the department’s new trucks can hold one thousand gallons of liquid.

The DOT says you can help their drivers by being aware of their trucks and giving them plenty of space when you see them on the road.