Wauwatosa ‘brine masters;’ keeping roads safe in southeast Wisconsin

WAUWATOSA, Wis. – One metropolis in southeast Wisconsin is taking street therapy into its personal palms – actually. 

In a storage in Wauwatosa, there isn’t a such factor as calm earlier than the storm.

“Watching the forecast, we’re making ready our crews,” mentioned Jason Blasiola, Wauwatosa Operations Superintendent.

Wauwatosa’s Public Works Division is in full gear. The groups’ focus is on the roads. 

“We’re beginning by making use of brine – which is a 23% saltwater – to the roadway,” Blasiola mentioned. 

If you happen to’re driving and see these streaks, there may be plenty of effort from Wauwatosa — the place they make brine regionally.

Wauwatosa DPW creates brine

“I could make about 800 gallons of brine with one ton of salt,” Blasiola mentioned.

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The Wauwatosa Public Works storage is stuffed with “brine masters” – a title coined by employees.

“With that 800 gallons I can deal with as much as 16, 17 miles of roadway,” Blasiola mentioned. “We add salt right into a hopper and we add water after which brine machine will frequently combine the water till it will get to 23% consistency of salt and water.”

Wauwatosa DPW creates brine

FOX6 Climate Specialists predict frigid temperatures. That’s one more reason brine is useful. Blasiola mentioned the colder it will get, the harder it’s for salt to be efficient on the roads. 

“The brine offers it extra melting energy within the colder temperatures,” Blasiola mentioned.

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In the long run, brine and salt serve the identical function – to make roads safer. 

DPW employees say for those who do must drive within the snowy situations, bear in mind to decelerate and provides them the room to deal with the roads