Lake County plows use GPS in snow fight

Travelers may not notice, but technology has been added to Lake County snowplows so roads can be cleared more efficiently.

Within the past several months, trucks that patrol 25 snow routes and some other Lake County Division of Transportation vehicles have been equipped with global positioning systems.

The devices transmit a variety of information, including the location of the truck, whether the plow blade is up or down, the rates and amounts of salt and liquid being applied, and other data that will be used to make adjustments.

Ultimately, the goal is to save money on materials, wear and tear on equipment and labor costs.

“It’s just a better way of managing our resources,” said Kevin Kerrigan, engineer of maintenance.

In the past, supervisors had to wait until a storm was over and the trucks were parked to determine how much materials were used.

With GPS, information can be gathered at the end of shifts. It can be used to tweak routes and reduce deadhead time in which trucks are rolling but plows are not in use, although officials want to get their feet wet with the new system before making changes.

“There’s too many variables in one storm — you don’t want to change a route based on one factor,” Kerrigan said. “We’ve got to figure out how best to use it.”

The GPS units were funded with $150,000 in federal stimulus money as part of a more extensive effort to promote energy efficiencies and conservation strategies across Lake County government operations.

Estimates are that information provided through GPS can be used to save about 600 tons of salt and 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel each year.

The new system is part of a multipronged effort to conserve resources that began in the early 1990s when it was noted that nearly a third of the salt being spread was lost because it literally bounced off the road.

They began using salt brine and calcium chloride to wet the salt before it was applied to reduce that loss. Beet juice, added to the mix about four years ago, has provided several benefits, including substantially lowering the working temperature of the salt that is spread.

Beet juice also creates a barrier that helps prevent snow from binding to the road surface, making it easier to remove and significantly cutting the use of calcium chloride.

Crews also apply an anti-icing agent to bridge decks a few times a week, which has reduced the need to salt those areas.

The use of blended liquids mixed with salt has become more widespread particularly since the cost of salt tripled a few years ago to about $138 a ton. The price has since settled to a more manageable $60 a ton but is still above the old norm of about $42 a ton, Kerrigan said.

Using less salt also is considered good for the environment. According to the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, too much salt is bad for roads, cars, bridges, lakes and streams.

A ton of rock salt can cause $1,450 in corrosion damage to bridges, for example, and a 50-pound bag of salt can contaminate 10,000 gallons of water, according to the commission.

In other snow-fighting matters, the county also is using wireless equipment to replace four 20-year-old remote weather stations, which include bridge sensors that provide pavement temperature.

The new stations allow the county to share information with its weather service, as well as the Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and McHenry County departments of transportation, which use the same systems.

“Snow and ice control is one area that’s changed quite a bit in the last few years,” said Al Giertych, assistant county engineer. “With all the congestion and traffic, we have to make decisions earlier and earlier.”