A cynical person might imagine that the Department of Transportation has an under-the-table agreement with the automotive glass shops. The DOT steadfastly refuses to consider using anything other than sharp fractured stone on the roads in the winter. It is difficult to determine just how much this practice has cost Alaskans over the years, but it must be in the millions of dollars.
In 43 years of driving in Alaska, I have seldom had a windshield damaged on a gravel road. Most of the damage and expense that I have incurred has been on paved highways, and has been directly due to ADOT’s use of quarter-inch to half-inch fractured rock as a traction enhancement. I have had windshields starred and cracked and have had rocks penetrate the windshield and blow shattered glass on me. I am sure that many readers of this paper have had similar experiences.
Application of fractured rock may be of use for a brief time. What happens, though, is that the tires of vehicles very rapidly toss the fractured gravel off to the side or pile it on the centerline, where it is of no use at all. Grit or sand will get embedded in any ice on the road and will stay in place. I have experimented with this myself. Quarter-inch-minus material — sand — stays where it is placed; gravel does not. Sand sheds will keep such material dry and separate. Most places in northern climes discovered this nearly 100 years ago.
It is difficult enough to keep a vehicle in good order in our climate. The state of Alaska could make it less difficult and expensive by using traction material that is less damaging to our vehicles.— Greg GarrelsSalcha
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