'Better Mousetrap' Saves Borough $20K on Winter Maintenance

To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, “If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.”

The phrase is commonly used as a metaphor for the power of innovation and also is behind a national competition, “Build a Better Mousetrap," sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration's Local & Tribal Technical Assistance Program (LTAP/TTAP).

The purpose of the competition, according to www.ltap.org, "is to collect and disseminate real world examples of best practices, tips from the field, and assist in the transfer of technology."

The entry submitted by Nazareth Borough and its Public Works Department—brine-making totes—has been named the winner of PennDOT LTAP's 2013 Pennsylvania Build a Better Mousetrap Competition.

The borough is being recognized for being innovative in how it applies brine, or salt water, to local roads and will represent Pennsylvania in the national "Build a Better Mousetrap" competition. The winner will be announced this summer during the LTAP/TTAP national conference in Boise, Idaho.

Brine, according to PennDOT, essentially involves treating roads before freezing precipitation starts to fall. The water part of the brine evaporates and the salt that remains helps prevent ice from forming a strong bond with the road surface. 

When the borough decided it wanted to use brine, public works superintendent Robert Reimer contacted Allen Township. The neighboring township has used brine for several years.

While Allen Township purchased a spray setup and a brine maker—the cost of which can reach $20,000—Reimer and his crew needed to devise a way to make brine and apply it at minimal cost to the borough.

What did they come up with?

They would use palletized totes—plastic totes with pallets attached at the bottom—to make, apply and store brine. It took about a day for the crew to cut the totes, drill the holes and to install the pipe, valves and wooden hopper. 

The total cost: $540.

Using brine also saves on the cost of salt. It takes about 12-16 tons of salt to adequately treat roads during a first winter event. With brine, it takes about one ton.

Reimer and his crew were able to save the borough thousands of dollars, courtesy of some innovative thinking.

Reimer remained humble after his accomplishment was announced at Monday's Nazareth Borough Council meeting.

"I want to thank Council and the [Public Works] Department for allowing me to experiment," he said. "If they wouldn’t have allowed me do it, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. So I’m thanking all of you."

For more information about the Federal Highway Administration's Local & Tribal Technical Assistance Program, which provides information and training to local governments and agencies responsible for more than 3 million miles of roads and more than 300,000 bridges in the country, visit www.ltap.org.

Oh, and what was the original Emerson quote?

"If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles, or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad, hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods."