Extreme Cold a Challenge for Salting Roadways, DPW Director Says

With the worst of the storm over and many residents busy shoveling, Tom Mazzaccaro, Montville director of Public Works, gave an update on the impact of the snow storm on the township.

He said that the township received about 6 – 8 inches of snow and “everything is normal except for minor accidents.”

“It should be noted that in the very cold weather road salting is less effective when temperatures are below 20 degrees,” said Mazzaccaro. “The minimum practical application range for salt is a pavement temperature of 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit and above. While salt will melt snow and ice down to a pavement temperature of -6 degrees Fahrenheit, it can melt over five times as much ice at 30 degrees Fahrenheit as at 20 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Attached are two graphs provided by Mazzaccaro. Graph No. 1 “shows that salt melts more ice per pound at higher temperatures” and graph No. 2 “shows the comparative time for different compounds to melt 1/8" of glare ice,” he said. 

During and after the storm, many Montville residents took to social media to post photos. Check them out here.