Mark DeVries, the maintenance superintendent for the McHenry County Department of Transportation, checks on his workers after they plowed and treated the roads after the snow fall on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010. DeVries started a blending technique to pretreat pavement called "Super Mix" that consists of salt water, sugar beet juice or other organics and calcium chloride. "Everybody is trying to use something a little more user friendly, a little better for the environment," said DeVries. (KERI WIGINTON/ Chicago Tribune)
DeVries, the maintenance superintendent for the McHenry County Division of Transportation, is widely recognized as an expert in tackling snow and ice on the pavement. Area transportation officials say he pioneered an anti-icing solution that many communities now use to keep ice from sticking to the roads.
“We’ve got an arsenal of weapons, if you will,” said Patrick Sheeran, Evanston’s superintendent of Streets and Sanitation.
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