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PennDOT Gearing Up For Winter With New Technology

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Nov 5, 2009 6:20 pm US/Eastern

PennDOT Gearing Up For Winter With New Technology

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Local drivers haven't had to contend with an icy commute over the warm summer months.

But that's all about to change and this winter PennDOT is hoping technology will make your drive a little easier.

"We have 100 percent computerized spreader systems where we can put down a metered application of salt," said PennDOT's Jeff Karr. "We have our T.M.C - Traffic Management Center - equipped with 125 cameras and video feeds at locations throughout the interstates of Allegheny County.'

And while the job of getting those roads clear hasn't changed, the way they do it is different.

For years now, crews have pre-treated local roads with a salt-brine mixture. But the new "missing ramps" on I-79 and the Parkway West do it themselves.

"When the surface temperature reaches two degrees the actual freeze point, it causes the deck to fire that material," says Karr.

Similar setups have been installed in the past, but the new ones were actually built into the road during construction.

All the brine is stored in a shed tucked between the missing ramps, but it stores hundreds and hundreds of gallons of the salt brine.

Although, when it's activated, it only spills about 30 gallons at a time onto the ramps. Still, PennDOT says it's just enough to do the trick.

"It's a strip and it sprays a small amount of material, even though the ramps are approximately 2,500 feet," says Karr.

Right now, the de-icing setups sit along parts of Route 28 and the I-79/Parkway West split.

But there are plans to eventually install them along McKnight Road, and while they won't totally keep the ice away, every bit helps.

"Bridges and overpasses will freeze before the roadway, so this gives our crews a bit of a buffer time before an event starts and they have to de-ice," added Karr.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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