A Proactive Approach to Winter Travel Safety

After the success of last year’s brine pilot program, Public Works is building a new brine farm to make enough brine in-house to treat additional parts of the City. The farm, located on Sherman Street, will feature three tanks to store liquid brine. The brine is a mixture of domestic water and solar salt. A fourth tank will hold a natural additive similar to molasses that can be added to the salt water solution to lower the freezing point and to reduce corrosion of surfaces with which it comes into contact.

The brine solution is applied in liquid form to the roadway before anticipated snow or ice and prevents snow and ice from bonding with the street surfaces. Unlike granular salts which can bounce off roadways or get stuck on top of snow and ice, brine begins working immediately once it comes into contact with precipitation. This results in easier and more efficient snow removal. Additionally, using brine reduces the environmental impact by using approximately 30% less salt and cuts down on excess salt running off into tree wells and waterways. The City of Cambridge Brine Farm is expected to be fully operational by the end of December and the City plans to expand the brine application to major roadways and several side streets.

To see a brine truck in action, check out our video.