Mn/DOT's winter maintenance research focuses on maintaining roadway friction and a high level of safety while reducing salt and sand use, minimizing impacts on the roadside environment, and minimizing corrosion (5). Currently research is being conducted on integrated tailgates (Figure 4), improved snow plows and cutting edges, maintenance concept vehicle, vehicle (snow plow) conspicuity studies, snow fence evaluation, and continuous friction measurement, etc. Special effort has been put toward research relating to deicing and anti-icing methods, prewetting using salt brine and other chemicals, salt brine mixing systems, zero velocity spreader concept, and automated bridge deicing systems, etc. Out of a total of over 800 trucks involved in snow removal, approximately 345 of them were operational with prewetting units by the end of the winter season 1995–96.