Using Beet Juice to Fight the Ice | Video

Rene Thibault | 1/11/2013

North Dakota is jumping on the beet juice bandwagon when it comes to roads clear during the winter. The City of Minot has started using a new road-coating system, it`s a liquid compound made up of salt-brine and beet juice. This new compound is used help road-salt and sand stick better to the streets.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation has been supplying the Magic City with the liquid for about a month now. It`s being used on the city`s main roads and heavy traffic areas.

City Street Superintendent Rick Hair says they`ll continue to use it. “As long as we can get it from the state, we`ll keep on using it. Like I said, bridge decks and hills or on Broadway where you get good traffic it works well. So as long as we can get it from the state, and they`ve been more than generous, we`ll use it, that`s our plan.”

The city plans on building its own brine plant in 2014.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY