Posted on 01/25/2026 2:30:34 PM PST by fruser1
Beet juice is being used across West Virginia, including Cabell County, to pretreat roads ahead of icy weather conditions.
It’s a fairly new practice, and the state Division of Highways, which is under the Department of Transportation, started using the substance on an experimental basis last winter.
While salt brine is effective at melting ice at temperatures in the 15- to 20-degree range, salt brine blended with beet juice can be effective at near-zero temperatures, according to state Highway Engineer Jacob Bumgarner.
“It’s not a magic pill,” Bumgarner said. “But it’s another tool in our toolbox.”
District garages across the state receive the ingredients to mix their own product before it’s put in trucks and distributed on the roads. Currently, it’s a mix of 80% traditional salt brine and 20% beet juice.
(Excerpt) Read more at wvpress.org ...
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Fahrenheit 0 is defined as the temperature at which "brine" freezes, but no one actually knows Mr. Fahrenheit's original brine mixture.
For juicing the roads, you can’t beat it.
Throw down some of the beet gummies Dana Loesch takes and the drivers on the icy roads will have normal blood pressure.
Just don’t be juiced on the road.
Beet juice is probably $5/quart at a juice bar.
I wonder which Democrat got the purchase order.
They use it here in Indiana and it works really well. I think they might add some salt with it to make a brine.
“I have no idea how well this actually works. I presume it’s an eco nazi thing so doesn’t,”
It works. Use Google or AI to educate yourself before posting nonsense.
Great, now the price for the beet juice I drink for my blood pressure control will go sky high.
Salt brine is good for -21C. With the beet juice added, it’s good for -25C.
I wonder if its red/purple beets or white sugar beets?
THAT ... is hilarious.
Has to be sugar beets , regular garden beets are way too expensive to juice.
I recall that the VA, MD, & DC road departments using that mixture beginning 10 or more years ago. Apparently it worked as they were still using it when I moved back to Indiana 7 years ago.
I wonder if it will attract deer and increase the roadside ant population. I suppose deer are already attracted to salt.
Used in Oklahoma too.
Used in tractor tires for ballast
So what happens when the warmer temps are back and the snow is all gone? Where does all the salt or the salt and beet juice go? Just curious. I’m not where there is snow.
They’ve been using both ‘pickle juice’ and ‘pickle’ on the roads in Calgary, the former, for a few years, and the latter for decades.
‘Pickle juice’ is the leftover brine from commercial pickle production and is sprayed on the roads prior to a snowfall. It helps to prevent snow and ice bonding to the pavement. It is sticky and apparently works down to -6°C (21°F). It leaves tell tale marks on the pavement, multiple lines on the pavement, slightly darker, from the spray nozzles.
‘Pickle’ is a mix of road salt and sand, spread from a sander truck. When it gets VERY cold, they’ll likely spread sand and gravel, which will dig into the snow and ice, and offer traction.
Source: Me. I drive for a living, and have lived in this Frozen North all 65 years of my life!
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