N.J. TRIES TO BEAT BLACK ICE:

New Jersey transportation officials are testing a new system aimed at melting black ice, the invisible layer that can send cars spinning without warning on winter nights. A $1.5 million pilot project is being installed on a stretch of Route 78 in Bethlehem Township, Warren County, that uses sensors to automatically coat the road with a melting solution. The automated system includes a weather station and 120 sprinklers that spray a potassium solution when conditions are right for black ice to form on the road. Officials said drivers won’t even notice the solution being applied and it won’t harm cars. Even if the automated system, known as Fixed Automated Spray Technology, proves to work well it won’t be placed on every road in the state because of the high cost. If it were installed on the 2,344 miles operated by the DOT it would carry a price tag of $5.8 billion. The idea instead is to place it on sections of road known to have problems with black ice. The test section on Route 78 is known as a notorious spot for trouble. Forty percent of the crashes in that area each year are caused by icing. A less costly method will be tried in other problem areas around the state. Transportation workers will install a mobile sprinkler on a number of highway maintenance trucks. The idea is to spray a saltwater solution prior to storms on roads known to have icing problems. The system will be tried on two stretches of road in Cherry Hill, a five-mile section of Interstate 295 and two miles of Route 70. It will also be tested in Lawrence Township at the interchange of Interstates 195 and 295, and on nine miles of Route 29. The testing will cost about $100,000, officials said. It would cost $8 million to expand it to all state highways.