The new Schmidt winter maintenance vehicle with brine spraying technology has just arrived at the depot of Thüringer Straßenwartungs- und Instandhaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (TSI). Marko Schönheyd, head of the civil engineering department at the district office, had the vehicle demonstrated to him. "This is TSI's first combination vehicle," explains Dietmar Spitze, the local head of the road maintenance department. It can go into operation immediately.
As part of a pilot project, the new liquid gritting technology will be used on one of the 19 routes into which the district road area is divided. The new method will not completely replace wet salt spreading, but will be used in suitable weather conditions. Therefore, the combination vehicle will be used, which is also equipped for the conventional procedure of pre-wetted salt spreading.
The brine is stored in the blue tank. Behind the conventional system for spreading the spreading material, a total of eleven hoses and nozzles protrude. This allows the spreading width on the roads to be adjusted - if necessary, the liquid covers several metres of road width.
The use of a brine spraying method, which has also been tested in Thuringia for two years, has considerable advantages for the environment. This is because the amount of road salt applied to the road is greatly reduced. Studies by the Federal Highway Research Institute (BAST) and the experience of the first users have confirmed the potential savings of 50 to 70 per cent in gritting material.