INDOT struggles to maintain roads

Workers from the Indiana Department of Transportation have been working consecutive 12-hour shifts to meet the needs of a brutal winter, said Harry Maginity, a spokesperson for INDOT Southeast. Some employees have had only one day off a week.

“Last year was not a very hard winter,” he said. “This year has been pretty extreme so far.”

Statewide, the department is spending money at almost twice the rate of the average for the past five years, he said.

“This year we’ve spent $31 million already, and the winter is half over,” Maginity said.

A press release from INDOT indicated the state spent $33.8 million in “winter operations” on average over the past five years.

According to the release, INDOT has logged 4.3 million miles, used 265,000 tons of granular salt and 2.5 million gallons of salt brine on highways.
Maginity said INDOT Southeast was contracted to buy rock salt at a rate of $61 per ton.

A typical truck carries six tons.

Another problem INDOT has been facing is extremely low temperatures. Normally, rock salt is effective down to about 20 degrees, Maginity said. Supplements such as magnesium chloride and a product called Beet Heat can bring salt’s effectiveness down to zero degrees.

“The problem is that we’ve been experiencing temperatures below zero,” Maginity said.

It is not only snow plow drivers who are working overtime to meet the needs of the state.

Mechanics have been put through their paces trying to keep up with machinery maintenance, Maginity said.

Equipment used by the department is suffering statewide, too.

Poor conditions take their toll on the fleet of trucks, Maginity said. He added that it does not help that the state extended the number of years single trucks are allowed to be on the road.

“Several years ago, they extended the service cycle from 15 years to 18 years,” he said. “That’s stretching the money of the taxpayer.”

Extreme weather condition roads do not only affect workers and equipment for the INDOT. Using large amounts of rock salt can also have serious environmental consequences.

“The salt, as the snow melts, gets transported into local streams,” said Todd Royer, an associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “There, it changes the water chemistry.”

Royer said rock salt runoff from roads can increase the salinity of the water. If the salinity is high enough, it can be toxic to aquatic life.

Roadside vegetation can be affected as well, Royer added, because road salt will accumulate on roadsides.

Royer was not aware of any alternatives to rock salt that are both environmentally friendly and cost-effective. There are some based on sugars, but Royer said they tend to be less effective than standard rock salt.

Salt levels are increasing in the ground water, and though much of the salt is flushed out of the water in the spring, some can accumulate in ground water salinization, Royer said.

Royer cautioned against reading too much into increased levels for just one year.

Long-term, chronic effects will not be affected by higher levels in a single year, he said.

However, the acute effects, as Royer put it, could be visible within the year.

“This year will have higher salt use than average. That means there’s going to be greater opportunity for salt to get into streams and rivers,” said Royer. “When the soils thaw, we will see effects.”