When it comes to winter driving, everyone wants their route clear and dry, and they want it done quickly. Why don't the plows come sooner or more often? Why don't they drop more salt or deicer? Why not get more drivers on the road? Tag along as a Montana snowplow driver prepares for a big winter storm and find out more about the logistical, environmental and technical challenges that come with keeping the roads clear of snow.
Welcome to The Big Why, a series from Montana Public Radio where we find out what we can discover together. I'm your host, Austin Amestoy. This is a show about listener-powered reporting. We'll answer questions, big or small, about anything under the Big Sky. By Montanans for Montana, this is The Big Why.
Reporter Edward O'Brien is with us today. Welcome back, Ed.
Edward O'Brien: Terrific to be here. Austin. Thank you.
Austin Amestoy: Ed, I'm thrilled we have a weather-adjacent Big Why question this week given your status as MTPR's de facto meteorologist.
Edward O'Brien: Weather adjacent, I love it. Yeah, I really do get a weird kick out of the weather, which is why Melissa Johansen's this question caught my eye. Johansen is a resident of Livingston and moved to Montana just over two years ago. Her work as a chaplain and part time pastor has her putting in long hours behind the wheel, sometimes in white knuckle winter driving conditions.
Austin Amestoy: Is Johansen a newcomer to snow driving?
Edward O'Brien: Absolutely not. She was raised in the Chicago area and spent a few years in Minnesota's Twin Cities before moving here to Montana.
Melissa Johansen: So the weather here isn't a whole lot different than what I experienced growing up. Good amount of snow, good amount of cold. But the roads here are very different than what I was used to.
Edward O'Brien: Meaning a lot more spicy to drive on. So Johansen wanted to know 'why does winter driving here feel so different than back in the Upper Midwest?' And in particular, if using salt to treat the pavement may be the culprit.
Austin Amestoy: How did you go about investigating Johansen's question, Ed?
Edward O'Brien: The only way I know how, Austin, I hit the road in style. That, my friend, is the purring of a Montana Department of Transportation or MDoT snowplow. MDoT's Missoula area team was gracious enough to let me hitch a ride on this plow just hours before the winter's first major arctic storm thrashed Montana.
John Buresh: We are going to head up Highway 200 going towards Seeley Lake.
Edward O'Brien: That's plow driver John Buresh. Buresh has driven Transportation Department plows for over 15 years. He's frequently behind the wheel of this double-winged juice truck.
Austin Amestoy: Come again?
Edward O'Brien: A very big, very orange snow plow. In addition to that big plow mounted up front, it sports two independently retractable 11 foot plows on either side of the vehicle.
Austin Amestoy: Okay, 11 foot plows, the wings. But juice truck?
Edward O'Brien: Ah, the juice. On this particular trip, the big tank in the back was loaded with salt brine. Literally, salt water. Salt sand, salt water, magnesium chloride. Our state plow crews have many deicers at their disposal to assist our winter driving. Back in that big plow, John Buresh steers with his left hand, while his right hand rests on a joystick with six brightly colored buttons. And those controlled the plow's tools with the press of a thumb.
John Buresh: So you just push that button. Can you hear it turn on? Generally, we shoot it at about 60 gallons per lane mile.
Edward O'Brien: What is a lane mile? I've heard this now.
John Buresh: A lane mile is 12 feet wide and a mile long. So you're shooting 60 gallons per mile of a 12 foot lane.
Austin Amestoy: So, Ed, what are these deicers exactly? How do they work?
Edward O'Brien: Good questions. And for that, I turn to Doug McBroom at MDoT headquarters in Helena.
Doug McBroom: They work by weakening the bond between the pavement and the ice, so that then we can remove the snow pack or the ice mechanically.
Edward O'Brien: Austin, I learned it's not as simple as just dumping a bunch of deicer, salt and sand on the road and calling it a day. There are a lot of variables at play. For instance, once the temperature hits about 10 degrees Farenheit and starts falling, chemical deicers are no longer an option. That's because the colder it gets, the slower and less effective they are at melting ice. So it's just a big waste of time, material, and of course, money. Again, plow driver John Buresh.
John Buresh: And as soon as you put material down, say salt sand or salt brine, you're making the road wet, or putting a granule on it, for the snow to stick to.
Austin Amestoy: Hmm, so, using deicer in really cold or windy conditions could actually make icy or slushy roads worse?
Edward O'Brien: Bingo. And that's a recurring issue in particularly cold and blustery parts of Montana, such as Livingston, where Melissa Johansen lives. According to Buresh, the best thing to do under those very cold, windy circumstances is to simply plow the road and save the deicer for another day because it'll just end up creating more problems and headaches. In addition to these powerful plows and deicing chemicals, it also takes skilled people to drive and maintain those plows. And don't forget everyone behind the scenes it takes to keep everything efficiently running in sync and on time. MDoT's Missoula Area Maintenance Chief Steve Felix said staffing challenges are not unusual.
Steve Felix: We hire close to 40 temporary employees here in the winter and we're down about 10 to 12 this year, which is not super uncommon. But we're in far better shape than some other areas in the state, especially in the Bozeman area, when it comes to staffing.
Austin Amestoy: So what's behind the staffing challenges in the Gallatin Valley?
Edward O'Brien: Well, the area's skyrocketing cost of living. It's hard to attract workers when many just can't afford to live there. And I should also note, where you're driving plays into this in a big way too. MDoT, for example, plows our highways, but cities and towns generally have to plow their own roads. Our bigger cities use deicers, but lots of smaller areas and towns just don't have the resources to do much beyond a bit of plowing.
Austin Amestoy: Ed, I'm remembering the list of chemicals you mentioned earlier that can be in these deicing mixtures. Do they have an impact on the environment?
Edward O'Brien: Oh yes they do. This stuff doesn't just magically vanish once it's been applied and the storm passes. Studies show chloride deicers can increase salt content in surface water and groundwater, which can harm aquatic life. Excess salt in soils and shallow groundwater can amplify the impact of drought on roadside plants and make them more susceptible to disease. Again, MDoT's Steve Felix.
Steve Felix: We try not to overuse and we try not to underuse. We've invested a lot in training, we've invested a lot in our equipment and we try to be as sensitive to the environment as we can, but we also have a job to do to keep those roads safe.
Austin Amestoy: Wow, sounds like a delicate balancing act. Ed, what are deicers doing to our vehicles?
Edward O'Brien: According to a 2017 AAA report, Austin, road deicer has nationally caused $3 billion annually in vehicle rust damage. Here in Montana, an inhibitor is mixed into these chemicals. Now, while that doesn't eliminate corrosion altogether, it does help slow it down. As counter intuitive as it sounds, frequent car washes are recommended in the winter to rinse that stuff off.
Austin Amestoy: Okay, I've got one last question. What's it like to ride shotgun in one of those double-wing juice trucks?
Edward O'Brien: Austin, I'm kind of embarrassed to say just how much fun I had in that giant, powerful vehicle. My inner five-year-old, which isn't too far beneath the surface, loved every second of it.
But on a more serious note, it was really eye opening to see the kind of behavior these plow drivers have to contend with from the driving public. In the roughly one hour I was in that cab, I saw at least half a dozen impatient drivers making unnecessarily dangerous passes around our plow. I assume just to save a few minutes. Now, allow me to get on the soapbox, if you will, for just a second. Please give these plow drivers plenty of space to let them do their important work. They're out there pulling long shifts to help us out.
Austin Amestoy: Ed, thanks for uncovering our answer this week.
Edward O'Brien: Of course Austin.
Austin Amestoy: Now we want to know what makes you curious about Montana. Submit your questions below. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts and help others find the show by sharing it and leaving a review. Let's see what we can discover together!
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