Bill > SB482

This bill directs the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the state agency responsible for building and maintaining Virginia's roads and bridges, to conduct a comprehensive study identifying safe and environmentally friendly alternatives to sodium chloride (commonly known as rock salt) used for de-icing and preventing ice on roadways during winter weather. As part of this research, VDOT must evaluate how current winter treatments impact public infrastructure, the natural environment, and the corrosion of personal property, such as vehicles, and compare these effects against potential new technologies and nonchemical options while weighing associated costs and savings. Finally, the agency is required to submit a detailed report of its findings by November 15, 2026, to the leaders of the House and Senate Transportation Committees—as well as upon request to the General Assembly’s natural resources committees—which must include a full financial accounting of state and local spending on winter road treatments from 2020 through recent years alongside projected budgets for 2026 through 2028.