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Anoka County no longer using beet juice to clear roads

This season, the county experimented with a beet juice solution to de-ice the roads, but it didn't find success with the product.

ANOKA COUNTY, Minn. — Snowplow drivers around the metro are getting ready for today's snowfall. In Anoka County, crews have been working since 2:00 a.m. to pre-treat the roads.

One thing they are not doing this storm is using beet juice to de-ice the roads. Earlier this season, the county experimented with that product to try and find a more environmentally-friendly option. However, Joe MacPherson, Anoka County's transportation division manager, says: "We've gone through three or four tankers full but what we discovered for us, it’s not working. We had to use more salt to get the same effect from the products that we were using before."

MacPherson said the county is still looking at other environmentally-friendly options for possible future use.

In the meantime, he says the county has enough salt and pre-treatment solution to cover the roads.

"It’s a craft you’re constantly trying to come up with new ideas and new ways to do things," he added.

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