Oct. 9, 2006

Contacts:

New Technology to Make Roads and Bridges Safer in Winter Comes to Pacific Northwest

MINNEAPOLIS – Fall has arrived and that means motorists in Washington and across the Pacific Northwest will soon need to watch out for frost, ice, snow and the other hazards that fall and winter driving can bring. Each year, adverse weather conditions contribute to an average of 1.4 million car accidents in this country, resulting in 7,000 deaths, more than 600,000 injuries, and $42 billion in economic loss, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

So, this fall the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is trying something new. The SafeLane ™ Surface Overlay system will be installed beginning Monday, Oct. 9 (weather permitting), on the Sunnyside Canal Overcrossing on westbound I-82 between Yakima and the Tri-Cities, Wash. The heavily traveled bridge averaged about 18,000 vehicles a day last year with trucks accounting for about 17 percent of that traffic. This will be the first test site in Washington, and on the West Coast, for this new technology, which is designed to keep ice away and drivers safer.

Here’s how the technology licensed and marketed by Minnesota-based Cargill works: SafeLane is made up of a patented combination of epoxy and aggregate rock. Transportation workers “charge” the surface with their standard liquid anti-icing chemicals before frost or ice storms are expected. The SafeLane overlay acts like a rigid sponge, storing the chemicals inside, and then automatically releasing them as conditions develop for the formation of ice or snow. The result is safer roads with better mobility and less maintenance, because the overlay helps prevent frost or ice from ever forming on road or bridge surfaces, and keeps releasing the anti-icing chemicals over multiple events.

“Billions of tax dollars are spent each year to preserve and maintain roads and bridges. SafeLane can extend the life of roads and bridges by acting as a sealant that reduces the effects of chloride and water intrusion. More importantly, it can reduce accidents and save lives,” says Bob Persichetti, general manager for SafeLane Surface Overlay.

“We’re installing SafeLane at this site because our data shows that 70 percent of the accidents on this structure are attributable to snow and ice,” explains Jim Henderson, maintenance superintendent for bridges, WSDOT. “We want to see if this technology can reduce or eliminate those weather-related accidents.” WSDOT records indicate that 51 accidents occurred at the site from 1999-2004, the latest data available.

An analysis of SafeLane’s performance during the 2005-2006 winter season found no weather-related accidents at all nine test sites studied. In many cases, this contrasted with multiple accidents on nearby untreated stretches of road or bridge deck. Almost all of the treated sites had a history of winter weather accidents. Leading snow and ice control authority Wilfred Nixon, president of Asset Insight Technologies and a professor of engineering at the University of Iowa, conducted the analysis concluding, “On the basis of the observations made during the 2005-06 winter, SafeLane overlay provides benefits in both safety and mobility under winter storm conditions, and those benefits may be attained with less chemical than would be needed for highway segments without the overlay.” A complete copy of the report, which was commissioned by Cargill, is available at www.cargillsafelane.com.

SafeLane is new technology unlike anything now being used. The Federal Highway Administration as part of its Innovative Bridge Research and Construction program recently awarded more than $550,000 to four states (Idaho, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas) to help finance SafeLane installations.

Transportation departments have been using epoxy overlays for three decades to extend the life of bridges by minimizing water seepage and intrusion of corrosive agents like chlorides. The Virginia Transportation Research Council’s Michael Sprinkel, a national expert in the design, construction and evaluation of epoxy overlays, notes that SafeLane provides all the benefits of standard epoxy overlays. “However,” Sprinkel adds, “the specific aggregate-chemical combination in SafeLane has the additional benefit of minimizing snow and ice-related crashes as well.”

The I-82 project in Washington marks the 26^th installation (17 this season, nine previously) of SafeLane at sites in a dozen states. Safelane was invented after 10 years of research at Michigan Tech University (MTU).