RALEIGH, NC (WNCN) - Treating North Carolina's roads for winter weather isn't cheap. It's $6 a mile to treat a one-mile stretch of road with brine. It's almost $15 a mile to spread salt, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The state has $44.6 million set aside for snow removal across North Carolina.
The NCDOT allocates 53 units of equipment (such as trucks and motor graders) for Guilford County and gets 75 units from contractors that bring in their own equipment. That's a possible 128 machines that will be out to clear snow from the roads in Guilford County if needed this weekend.
Brad Wall with the NCDOT says if the precipitation starts out as rain, they will typically not brine the roads.
Wake County boasts 89 trucks and 33 road graders. That's all funded by taxpayer money, and Sean Williams with NCDOT said the state's budget hasn't increased since last year.
"In the event that these costs exceed that amount, we have an emergency pool of money from which to draw from," he said.
Brine, the cheapest treatment, prevents snow and ice from bonding to the road. It makes it easier for snow and ice to be removed. However, the timing of treating roads with brine or salt isn't an exact science. Rain could render them ineffective, thus wasting tax dollars.