While salt and other deicers are effective at making winter roads safer for travel, they can negatively impact the natural environment. Clear Roads studies have helped agencies identify best management practices to reduce the environmental impacts of winter maintenance materials.
Specifications and Guidance
- Clear Roads Environmental Best Management Practices Manual for Snow and Ice Control
- Clear Roads Best Practices Manual for Road Salt in Winter Maintenance
Research and Resources
- Adaptive Management to Improve Deicing Operations (Minnesota DOT, March 2021)
- Evaluating the Potential Effects of Deicing Salts on Roadside Carbon Sequestration (Western Transportation Institute/Montana State University, 2019)
- Toxicological Effects of Chloride-Based Deicers in the Natural Environment (Western Transportation Institute, 2014)
- Strategies to Mitigate the Impacts of Chloride Roadway Deicers on the Natural Environment (NCHRP, 2013)
- AASHTO Center for Environmental Excellence
- Assessment of Soil and Wash Water Quality Beneath Salt-Spreader Racks (Virginia Transportation Research Council, 2008)