As this year’s first snow fell on November 25, local governments are preparing for winter weather and setting countermeasures. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov.26 (Korea Bizwire) – As this year’s first snow fell on November 25, local governments are preparing for winter weather and setting countermeasures. Each local government is coming up with various ideas to efficiently clear snow off the roads.
Clearing the roads in Gangwon Province, which is an area that often gets heavy snow, is somewhat similar to combat. The city of Gangneung is famous for its continuous efforts to clear snow on the streets until the snow stops falling.
The usage of shovels and spraying solutions that melt snow are regular options. City workers use eco-friendly solutions near green areas, and support rural areas with shoveling tools for tractors so that residents can clear snow off their property.
Municipal workers in Sokcho use sea water with calcium chloride to melt snow, and are seeing great results. By using sea water, the usage of calcium chloride can be reduced, cutting down costs. The local government saved 800 million won last year.
Gyeonggi Province switched from using solid calcium chloride to a mixture of salt and calcium chloride solutions. The new method is efficient as it takes less time for the solution to melt snow, and the salt stops the water from freezing again.
The biggest merit of the method is that it is eco-friendly, since there are almost no remains of calcium chloride in the streets. Previously, solid calcium chloride would remain on the streets, killing trees planted next to the roads.
Danyang in Chungbuk Province is operating a special ‘snow removal team’. Consisting of five members at the base and officials in charge of eight separate areas, the team starts patrolling freezing regions before 4 a.m. on snowy days. They communicate with each other through SNS, sharing information about the areas that need urgent removal of snow and ice.
The city of Daejeon operates a portal site that shows the movement of snow removal machines as they clear the snow off the streets. They plan to air the snow and clearance status on the portal site live.
The snow clearing methods on Jeju Island are interesting too. Though the island is located at the very south of the nation, there is a lot of snow every year. The local government has been using salted underground water to melt the snow since 2011.
Through a device developed by an employee at the town office, salted underground water runs out of a water tank and into the streets powered by gravity.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
