PennDOT, Alle-Kiski municipalities treat roads differently when the snow starts to fall

The first significant snow of the season blanketed the Alle-Kiski Valley on Thursday evening leaving motorists with a mixed bag of road conditions for their Friday morning commute.

Almost 2 inches of snow fell in New Kensington, and Westmoreland County saw a snowfall of between 2 and 5 inches in the Laurel Highlands. Overall, the Pittsburgh area saw between 1.5 to 2 inches of snow, according to Jenna Lake, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Road salt is a key ingredient used for its anti-icing capabilities.

According to PennDOT, road conditions involving snow can vary depending on whether roadways are pre-treated with a salt brine mixture before the first snowflakes hit the ground. The water evaporates from the brine and the remaining salt helps prevent ice bonding with the road surface.

PennDOT drivers in salt brine trucks began pre-treating all interstates in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties and Route 28 beginning Wednesday and continued all day Thursday, according to Lori Musto, PennDOT District 11 assistant district maintenance executive.

“It makes a big difference if the roads are treated with salt brine,” Musto said.

The cost of pre-treating is about $6.50 per lane-mile and brine is about $8.40 per lane-mile.

How municipalities handle snow

Pre-treating is a luxury that Alle-Kiski Valley municipalities can’t afford.

None of the towns contacted Friday said they’re ever used a salt brine pre-treatment on local roads because of the cost.

Allegheny Township Supervisor Jamie Morabito said the township pre-treats the roads it is responsible for, but not with brine.

“They’ll be pre-treated with salt prior to the storm, and it’s just as effective with less equipment,” Morabito said.

In New Kensington, City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said roads have never been pre-treated since he was hired in 1987.

But the city offers around-the-clock salt truck plowing during storms.

“We start as soon as we hear things are getting slick. They do a good job,” Scarpiniti said.

The New Kensington Public Works Department employs 11 and maintains about 54 miles of roads, including Route 366 to the Tarentum Bridge.

Leechburg Mayor Wayne Dobos said Leechburg police officers keep tabs on road conditions and notify borough officials when they think it’s necessary to plow and salt roads.

The borough maintains a dump truck equipped with a snowplow and salt spreader and a 1-ton pickup truck to navigate narrow streets.

Two full-time road crew employees cover about 10 miles of roads in Leechburg.