Anti-Ice Coating that Lasts and Lasts

Russ Alger at one of his test sites at the Keweenaw Research Center.

As long as there have been snow and roads, there have been bridges that ice up and intersections that turn to greased glass.

That era of roadway treachery could be ending. Russ Alger, director of the Institute of Snow Research at Michigan Tech’s Keweenaw Research Center, may have found a way to make winter’s slipperiest surfaces safe for wary travelers.

This "Anti-Icing Smart Overlay" looks like your basic kitty litter, which isn’t too far off.

Ground limestone is stuck tight onto a small square of pavement material with epoxy. This three-layer system "soaks up chemicals like a sponge," he says.

The system is superior to spreading salt or other de-icing compounds. Such chemicals are expensive to use and take a toll on the environment, not to mention the body parts of Snow Belt vehicles.

To add insult to injury, as the ice melts, it washes the chemicals off, so the next time it snows, the salt trucks have to go out again.

But if the pavement were coated with an Anti-Icing Smart Overlay, the salt wouldn’t wash off. Stuck in the thin coating, it would be ready for the next snow, and the next. Theoretically, one application of road salt could last for weeks or even longer.

 Alger doesn’t envision resurfacing America’s entire highway system, however. "At first, the primary application would be bridge decks," he says. "Theoretically, crews could put chemicals on a bridge in October and not go out again until March."

Another prime application could be airport runways. Last winter, Alger worked on a contract from the FAA, running tests on a service road at O’Hare, in Chicago, and on a section of a taxiway at Atlantic City Airport in New Jersey.