LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATE USED AS ICE CHAT IMPROVES SAFETY FROM WINTER WEATHER
The surprisingly extreme winter conditions in North Texas produced uncommon amounts of accumulated precipitation – ice and snow – in the first two weeks of February 2011. Although the inclement weather curtailed sales to most of our customers, the weather did provide the opportunity to address needs in the maintenance marketplace.
ARCOSA’s Streetman Expanded Shale Plant successfully delivered over 12,000 cubic yards (CYDS) of Grade 5 Modified “Ice Chat” to several TXDOT Districts, Local County and City Maintenance Units, as well as several private institutions. (Note: see below for more information on “Ice Chat.”) Interestingly, a finer blend of the material was also used on some of the walkways around the Dallas Cowboy Stadium during Super Bowl XLV.
Grade 5 Modified “Ice Chat” is primarily used to reduce vehicle “skidding” on icy patches on roads and bridges. Its dark, contrasting color is deliberately designed to alert motorists of potential icy and/or hazardous conditions on overpasses and curves in the road.
Additional benefits using Grade 5 Modified “Ice Chat” is a reduction in the clean-up efforts normally needed with competitive products. “Ice Chat” provides a significant reduction in maintenance, as well as liability costs, as no dangerous sweeping is required. The material weighs half as much as most competitive products so once the ice melts, the traffic flow will “sweep” the excess material off to the shoulder of the road by simple tire rotation.
The Grade 5 Modified product is a (-3/8) blend of material specifically designed for weather related applications and can also be used for other maintenance applications such as “Pot Hole Patcher Aggregate” and cleaning up certain chemical spills