Beet juice instead of salt for slippery roads?

It sounds silly, or crazy, but Upper Milford Township resident Phil Casey, a regular at supervisors meetings, told the board at its Feb. 7 meeting that many municipalities in other states are using a compound that incorporates organic materials such as beet juice as an alternative to road salt.

Road salt, Casey said, is corrosive to vehicles and roads, and leads to toxic runoff into streams. It's also expensive.

He gave supervisors a handout from a public works magazine about a public works department in Illinois that uses the biodegradable brine incorporating beet juice.

Casey said the compound has a lower freezing point than road salt, costs less and can be applied with the same equipment the township uses now.

"The salt you're putting down now is killing the bridges," he said.

"I know what salt brine does to cars," Supervisors Robert Sentner said, and asked Casey to bring in more information.