The City of Barrie is putting away the beet juice and is taking out the molasses to combat icy roads.
The city has started using a mix of molasses and magnesium chloride, which they say is less corrosive and reduces the use of salt.
“What we're doing is not only to create efficiencies; it's to save the environment," says Dave Friary, director of roads, parks and fleet for the city.
The trucks are filled with salt and then the pre-wet liquid tanks are filled with the molasses mix. It then sprays the salt before it hits the road.
"Typical road salt is only good to about minus 12, so this will get us anywhere from minus 20, minus 30," he says. “The only roads that get salt or this product will be the arterial roads. The main roads. The other roads will just strictly be sanded."
In Springwater Township, it uses a 95 per cent sand and a five per cent salt mixture.
"That product's been used for quite some time probably as long as Springwater's been around and we'll continue to use it until our volumes of traffic rise to the point where we have to switch to something else," says Heather Coleman, director of public works for Springwater Township.
The City of Barrie says the switch to molasses means saving money, but officials say it won't know by how much until after winter comes and goes.
