Cargill now offers its WinterPave asphalt anti-freeze, a new product specifically designed for helping make safer winter roads an easier process for public works officials and commercial contractors while providing an environmentally friendly option.
Freezing rain, snowfall and black ice are some of the many dangerous winter conditions that plague drivers and pose challenging obstacles for winter maintenance professionals. WinterPave asphalt anti-freezewas developed in Europe that Cargill is now rolling out in the U.S. after several years of adaptation, testing and development.
The product is a proprietary additive that gives traditional asphalt anti-icing properties when mixed directly with the product during production. By adding the anti-icing additive directly into the asphalt surface, municipalities, contractors and the public can experience safer winter roads as well as benefit from fewer chlorides released into the environment when compared to traditional methods.
“WinterPave asphalt anti-freeze will benefit the public by effectively helping reduce the bond of ice and snow to the pavement, creating safer driving conditions,” says Debby Capela, Cargill Deicing Technology business development manager. “Municipalities, commercial contractors and others who work to keep roads, bridges and parking areas safe for motorists and pedestrians will experience easier plowing conditions.”
WinterPave asphalt anti-freeze features and benefits include:
- Mixed directly with asphalt during production for easy installation
- Delays formation of slippery conditions caused by snow and ice for easier, faster plowing
- Longer margin of time for snowplow drivers to intervene during heavy snowfall
- Releases fewer chlorides into the environment
- Helps extend pavement life and may help the reduction of potholes
WinterPave asphalt anti-freeze helps prevent snowpack and ice from bonding to the pavement at surface temperatures greater than 17 degrees Fahrenheit. This prevents hazardous hard-pack from adhering to the road surface and allows for easier plowing and safer conditions.
“When we push snow and ice from the area over which the WinterPave asphalt was installed, we’re not seeing the ice and snow pack bonding that we see in other locations that are straight asphalt,” says Mark Jamison, transportation division manager for the City of Roanoke, VA. “The hard-pack doesn’t seem to be stuck to the road quite as hard. Once the road starts drying, it seems to dry a little bit quicker, which helps to minimize the extent of refreezing at night.”
Environmental benefits of the product result in a reduced number of sodium chloride applications needed to melt away hard-pack. Once introduced to the asphalt mixture, the WinterPave asphalt anti-freeze product allows for slow and continual release of the anti-icing mixture onto the road surface for concentrated, effective results for keeping the roads clear.
The anti-icing product is incorporated with asphalt during asphalt production, which creates a simple installation process that is the same as installing non-treated asphalt. By adding WinterPave asphalt anti-freeze to asphalt, the additive has no adverse effects on the structural components of the pavement, such as application, performance, durability or skid resistance.
