NEW HAVEN – New Haven is testing a new product to make clearing snow and ice from city streets easier this winter and prepare for the opening of the Maplecrest Road extension.

After two winters of treating road salt with a sugar beet product, the city has now turned to a corn byproduct of vodka distilling, said Dave Jones, utilities superintendent.

City plow crews are testing the corn product called Magic Salt on city streets this winter and have used it during the past three snowfalls. Unlike the beet juice, the liquid corn product is mixed with a brine and then sprayed on roads before snow falls, Jones said.

Falling snow activates the mixture, which prevents ice from forming as cars drive over the snow. That makes it easier for plows to remove the snow and requires less road salt, he said.

The corn product could cut the amount of road salt the city uses by half. Although it’s too soon to know the full effect, the pre-treating is making a difference. Crews are using less salt and the roads have been easier to clear, Jones said.

He tested the beet juice and now the Magic Salt both to meet a tight budget and to prepare for the opening of the Maplecrest Road extension, which will be under construction this spring.

Road salt won’t work on the new road, which will include four bridges spanning the Maumee River and a set of railroad tracks, Jones said.

Instead of melting snow and ice, road salt would bounce off the bridge deck and drop to the Riverhaven community below. Bridges also freeze before road surfaces, and Jones said he wants to find a product that will prevent ice before the road opens.

“We don’t want to be testing on a brand-new structure. It’s going to be an ice-monger,” Jones said.

Although the beet juice worked well, Jones prefers the Magic Salt because it is cheaper, and he can buy it from a New Haven distributor. Both are organic products that are easy on the environment and help melt the snow, he said.

Using the Magic Salt to pre-treat roads can also reduce overtime costs because crews can spray the roads during regular daytime shifts, requiring fewer plow trucks after hours. It could reduce fuel consumption and cause less wear and tear on the trucks, Jones said, creating additional savings for the city.

Mayor Terry McDonald, who has been known to drive a city plow, noticed a difference last Friday night. The snow did not compact much from the traffic on Lincoln Highway, he said.

And to residents, snow removal is a key city service, McDonald said.

“The community judges that department on how fast they get the snow off and how fast they pick up leaves,” he said of the Utility Department.

Councilman Roger Clayton, D-3rd, said he was impressed that the roads in his addition were cleared by Wednesday afternoon.

“The city’s plowing efforts are second to none,” Clayton said. “I get no complaints about the city street department and their snow plowing, only compliments.”

The 18-member department typically has help from the parks department and other city staff operating snowplows. Thursday, crews were busy repairing plows in anticipation of the next snowfall.

“We’re ready for spring here in New Haven,” he said.

aiacone@jg.net