July 12, 2007

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MINNEAPOLIS – Summer is here and that means Minnesota motorists no longer need to worry about icy or snowy roadways. But for state transportation officials it’s already time to start looking ahead at how to make next winter’s driving season safer.

This summer, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) is installing new technology designed to help increase safety and mobility on roads and bridges at three additional sites in Minnesota. The technology, called SafeLane ™ Surface Overlay, is a patented combination of epoxy and aggregate that acts like a rigid sponge, storing anti-icing chemicals inside, then automatically releasing them as snow and ice conditions develop. It also provides superior friction, giving drivers better traction year round.

SafeLane overlay will be installed beginning Monday, July 16 (weather permitting) on the Highway 2 Bridge one mile west of Bemidji High School in Bemidji. It will be applied to 13,500 square feet of surface.

“We selected this bridge because it’s on a highly traveled route near the local high school and has above average crash rates,” said Lynn Eaton, district engineer, MN/DOT District 2. “Mn/DOT’s installation of SafeLane overlay technology is designed to reduce crashes at this site and improve safety and mobility.” The project will take about four days to complete, weather permitting.

Mn/DOT installed SafeLane overlay near Barnesville on the I-94 bridges at Exit 22 in June. Mn/DOT also installed SafeLane overlay on the east and westbound I-94 bridges one mile east of Alexandria in June. Last year, Mn/DOT installed SafeLane overlay on the Highway 169 Mitchell Bridge near Hibbing. Mn/DOT managers were pleased with its winter performance.

SafeLane overlay, licensed and marketed by Minnesota-based Cargill, works in this way: prior to a winter storm, Mn/DOT plow truck operators will “charge” the overlay with their standard anti-icing chemicals. The overlay stores the chemicals inside, automatically releasing them to help prevent frost or ice from forming on the bridge surface. Plus, it keeps releasing the anti-icing chemicals over multiple events.

“SafeLane can extend the life of roads and bridges by acting as a sealant to reduce the effects of chloride and water intrusion. More importantly, it can reduce crashes and save lives,” said Bob Persichetti, general manager for SafeLane Surface Overlay.

For the past two years, Cargill has commissioned leading ice and snow control expert Wilfrid Nixon to analyze SafeLane overlay’s winter performance. In his just-completed 2006-2007 report, Nixon, president of Asset Insight Technologies and professor of engineering at the University of Iowa, concludes that “there is now two years of consistent evidence that improved performance by SafeLane overlay under winter conditions…does indeed translate into safety improvements for the traveling public.”

Nixon’s 2005-2006 performance report found no weather-related crashes at any of the nine SafeLane overlay test sites then in place. Although cautioning that safety studies need to be conducted over a number of years to yield statistically significant results, the 2006-2007 report again found dramatic accident reduction rates among the 26 road and bridge test sites reporting data. Copies of the report are posted at www.cargillsafelane.com.