By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

The City of Brighton Department of Public Works is sharing insights on the effectiveness of salt on the roads in winter.

During the winter season, the Brighton DPW reports that it is not uncommon to receive calls from residents asking why the streets are icy. Their answer essentially boils down to if the temperature isn’t right for salt, it might not work at all or even make things more dangerous.

In their latest community memo, the DPW states that at 30-degrees, one pound of salt will melt 46 pounds of ice. However, when temperatures drop to 10-degrees or lower, salt hardly does anything. While sunshine and traffic can help to raise its effectiveness during daylight hours, road conditions can become dangerous at night in sub-15-degree weather. Melted snow becomes a saltwater solution that can refreeze into a layer of ice.

The DPW states that sometimes, as has happened in past winters, they unfortunately have to leave ice and packed snow on roadways for up to a week at a time because salting during the day would just create more ice at night. They encourage all drivers to use caution when traveling in inclement weather.