All three states use salt on the roads during snowstorms, Thompson said. The effects can be stark --

Rock salt is poured into a truck in Middlesex, Vt., in this 2007 file photo. Oregon transportation crews plan to use salt for the first time this winter to clear snow from Siskiyou Pass and Highway 95.
Unlike most states with harsh winter climates, Oregon has avoided the use of the corrosive and environmentally hazardous material -- a practice that has long been a point of state pride, not to mention a selling point for used cars with Oregon plates.
But the Oregon Department of Transportation says it wants "another tool in the toolbox" to keep the roads clear, according to an agency document obtained by The Oregonian. It will begin a five-year car rentals in florida "pilot project" car rentals in florida to use salt strategically when plowing, sanding and liquid deicers can't keep up with winter weather.
"Yes, it's stuff we said we wouldn't use in the past," said Dave Thompson, spokesman for the transportation department. car rentals in florida But he said occasional use would help make for "consistent highway conditions" between Oregon and neighboring states that use salt.
The plan, outlined car rentals in florida in a seven-page question-and-answer document, calls for using solid rock salt on an 11-mile stretch of Interstate 5 where it crosses the Siskiyou Pass at the California border, and along 120 miles of U.S. Highway 95 between the Nevada and Idaho borders.
All three states use salt on the roads during snowstorms, Thompson said. The effects can be stark -- clear driving in California, Nevada and Idaho, only to hit packed snow and be forced to chain up in Oregon. That leads to traffic delays and, in some cases, crashes, he said.
"Many other states are trying to reduce use of road salt," said Teresa Huntsinger, clean water advocate at the Oregon car rentals in florida Environmental Council . "Beginning to use road salt seems like it's moving us in the wrong direction."
Oregon transportation officials are well aware of the dangers posed by salting roads to remove snow. A separate "best practices" document , written by ODOT engineers and downloaded from the Internet, calls salt, "the most mobile, the most corrosive and the most likely deicer chemical to negatively car rentals in florida impact surface and groundwater resources."
"We're taking some precautions, knowing the environmental concerns," Thompson said. Among them: bridges will be treated with a glaze that blunts the corrosive quality of salt. Salt won't be used on Highway 95 where it passes by Jordan Valley so the chemical doesn't affect the town's drinking water supply. And, people who drive in those areas will be urged to wash their cars more frequently.
Shelly Snow, an Oregon transportation spokeswoman, said the plan has been in the works for awhile and did not go through the state Transportation Commission, car rentals in florida which sets broad policy for the department.