LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- While the ice storm didn't hit as hard as we might have expected, that didn't stop the Arkansas Highway Department from trying something new.
The Highway Department went to work with brine, a mixture of salt and water meant to de-ice those slippery slopes.
While Thursday's rain was basically a wrench in the experiment, the department said it did see results, and the changes they noticed might be coming to a highway near you in the near future.
"What we're doing is taking the rock salt that we usually mix in with the sand that you see loaded in the back of the trucks in the granular format. We're grinding the salt down a little bit more so that's more soluble in water; we're mixing it with water," explained Danny Staessle, with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
The new solution is easier to spread on roadways and balance the checkbook.
"The best part about it is the salt brine costs less than some of the other mixtures that we put down," he added.
Conditions like what we saw in the past couple of days makes it difficult for the treatment to work. It's the combination of rain and traffic that defeat the purpose.
We're only doing it in District 9 right now. We hope to expand that if we have good results to the other districts throughout the state," Staessle stated.
"I would say they are pretty clear. The pretreatment was pretty efficient," said Evan Cowling, a THV 11 social media follower.
"The jury is a little out because they haven't had the ideal conditions to get out there and start removing. We'll know a little bit later today if they had the success they were looking for. but so far the indications are good," said Staessle.
The same old rules apply if drivers are worried about salty residue getting on their cars. You'll need to run your car through a car wash after a winter event.
Adding to the benefits, the department won't have to spend any money to convert the current sand and salt trucks because they can already spray the brine.