The State of Indiana is using a high tech system designed to pin-point the usage material and manpower.
As part of a 14 state pilot program, Indiana installed special computers on 125 salt trucks. The driver enters information like the current air and ground temperature, the amount of snow falling and the anticipated amount of precipitation.
That data is evaluated by a weather service, then instructions are relayed back to the driver: How much salt to spread and for how long.
"It gives us an accurate recommendation on how much salt needs to be put on the roads or how often we need to go out," said Ashley Hungate, INDOT.
The whole idea is to be more accurate with salt usage and work smarter.
"It's not just throwing salt down on the road. It's knowing when the right time to put salt down is and the right time to stop," said Jacob Smith, INDOT Shift Supervisor.
The system is all online so a supervisor can see exactly the routes that have been salted and exactly when. The trucks even come equipped with cameras that send back images of road conditions in their area.
The total cost of the pilot program was $250,000. Some of that was covered by the federal government. The idea of course is to eventually save much more than that by using less salt and less manpower.
