STORY: :: Georgia prepares for winter weather

with brine and road treatments

:: January 8, 2025

:: Forest Park, Georgia

:: Natalie Dale, Spokesperson, Georgia department of Transportation

“Brine is that mixture of water and salt. So the brine goes straight from these tanks into those tankers. And then you also have a system of pipes here where from the brine production unit outside — so where we’re churning up that granular salt and water, it feeds into the tanks.”

“We sit in a very precarious place here in Metro Atlanta. And a lot of what we get is ice which is very different. It is hard, if not impossible, to plow sheets of ice. It is easier to plow that big, fluffy snow that you do get in the North. So we have to develop a winter weather plan that is specific to southern winters which are very different than northern winters.”

GDOT’s MAU manages the state’s largest brine operation, producing and storing hundreds of thousands of gallons of brine to treat roads before and during winter storms.

This operation is crucial for preventing ice buildup on major highways, such as Interstates 75, 85, I-20, and 285, which are prioritized for treatment during storms.

GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale says Georgia’s primary challenge during winter weather is ice, not snow.

“We sit in a very precarious place here in Metro Atlanta. And a lot of what we get is ice,” Dale said. “It is hard, if not impossible, to plow sheets of ice. It’s easier to plow the big, fluffy snow you get up north.”

Starting at midnight, GDOT crews and vehicles will begin brining roads as snow and ice are expected to impact the region on Friday.