Now that Highway 75 is dry it is easy to notice a milky line in the center of the road and on the side close to the shoulders. It is particularly noticeable north of Ketchum. It is salt that the Idaho Department of Transportation is dumping on the asphalt in order to melt the snow.
This method to get rid of the snow and ice started two or three years ago, but I have never seen it being applied so heavily as it has been done this time around. The bad news is that this salt will also stick to every part of a car with extremely damaging consequences. It will rot every metallic part of cars or trucks. It will destroy the brakes on the wheels of a vehicle, and it will completely perforate the body. I do know of the damaging results of salt having lived in Canada where salt has been used profusely. Furthermore, the salt is not environmentally acceptable because it will end up in our rivers acting as fertilizers and therefore promoting the growth of algae and all kinds of undesirable plants.
Let's go back to simple sanding of the roads. It has worked in the past, and it should work now, especially given the fact that the cars that we drive in this day are better handlers of the road and a good proportion being all-wheel drive. Please let ITD know that we do not want salt on the road. I encourage everyone who is concerned about this situation to contact the Idaho Transportation Department at http://itd.idaho.gov/.
Nello Busdon
Ketchum
