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heated car bridges

 a heating "grid element" for a highway overpass.
 
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Uses same technology like a grid from a heating blanket...or a rear-window defogger...with a bit more wattage. Buried rebar or other similar conducting medium just under the bridge's road surface would be charged with electricity to keep the surface of the overpass above 32 degrees Fahrenheit during freezing weather. Could be powered by a small solar panel or wind-driven turbine located close by. Much more enviromentally friendly than salt or cinders.
—muzer, Oct 02 2003

Same except it's gas lines and flames http://www.halfbake...a/Burning_20Bridges
[FarmerJohn, Oct 21 2004]

Baked http://www.smartbri...dge/HBTprojects.htm
Not Widely, maybe, but they're certainly out there. [DrCurry, Oct 21 2004]

Virginia's heated bridge http://www.virginia...e/faq-hotbridge.asp
Another heated bridge, in Virginia [themanfire, Oct 21 2004]

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       I got no problem with salt or cinders
—dickity, Oct 02 2003
   

       also,get a truck if driving over ice is hard for your 1978 Volkswagan
—dickity, Oct 02 2003
   

       Then all the roads will have to have signs every hundred feet saying “Road Ices Before Bridge”.
—pluterday, Oct 02 2003
   

       It's so cold out, you could fry an egg on the freeway.
—Amos Kito, Oct 02 2003
   

       Saw once reference to heat sink under permafrost buildings, to keep from sinking into the earth. What of melt road ice same way, or keep sidewalks clear? Just in reverse -and warm air RISES - must be easier. D.
—dinosnider, Oct 02 2003
   

       The intention is good, but I feel doubtful that enough power would be generated by "a small solar panel or wind-driven turbine." Maybe one of our number-crunchers can supply a guesstimate.
—FarmerJohn, Oct 02 2003
   

       Modern runways are heated!
—grahamhgreen, Oct 03 2003
   

       Welcome to HB, [muzer].   

       I feel doubtful that a small solar panel will yield power while it is snowing. Is there any way to make a car-heated bridge, using magnetic induction?
—Laughs Last, Oct 03 2003
   

       I know some frat guys who would be willing to stand on the side of the road and melt away the ice with umm, beer induced excretions. And don't worry, they assured me that they'd throw in window defrosting at no extra charge.
—VuDuBlade, Oct 05 2003
   

       Heating bridges would work, but would use a lot of energy. As an alternative, how about cooling the bridge? Traction is lowest when ice is near 32F because it can form a thin layer of water on top. If the ice were cooler, then it wouldn't have the water layer.   

       To be sure, you wouldn't want to be trying to freeze the bridge when the air temperature is in the 40's or when it's raining, but if the temperature is well-below freezing, cooling the bridge may be easier than heating it.
—supercat, Oct 05 2003
   

       This is already baked in some places in Iceland (using waste Geothermal heat rather than solar or wind power).
—Gordon Comstock, Oct 06 2003
   

       I'm unsure why ensuring bridges are ice-free would be so desirable, if the road either end of the bridge is doing skating rink impersonations?   

       Of course, I live in a place where it never goes below freezing, so I may be missing something vital.
—UnaBubba, Oct 06 2003
   

       Bridges ice up faster than roads.
—waugsqueke, Oct 06 2003
   

       The Smart Road project near my alma mater Virginia Tech -- which has its own snowmaking machines for testing out various ways of handling icy conditions -- has been looking into heated roadways as a possibility. Here are some URLs:   

       http://www.ctr.vt.edu/ http://www.techtv.com/news/scitech/story/0,24195,3372585,00.html http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/constsal-smartrdoverview.asp http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/technology.asp
—themanfire, Oct 06 2003
   

       This was a very astute idea!:   

       Is there any way to make a car-heated bridge, using magnetic induction?   

       Laughs Last, Oct 03 2003   

       Passing cars would charge up (a) battery or capacitor to keep things warmed up when the sun is obscured. The local bridges here in Sweden are heated by the central heating works, piping hot water to the entire town of 100,000 or so. 'Course, I pay for it, too.
—stringstretcher, Oct 30 2003
   

       I recall mention of a system they were considering implementing here in Ohio that involves sprayer heads recessed at intervals in the bridge's road surface that intermittently spray a de-icing liquid.
—kmrowe6647, Oct 30 2003
   

       Well, I'm sure it's baked somewhere heated sidewalks are all over the place. Probably a good idea, although it take way more power than a small wind turbine or solar panel. Heating with elictricity takes a lot of juice. But if it's just on bridges and only when conditions are right for forming ice on the surface total consuption might not be too high
—tedhaubrich, Jun 02 2004
   


 

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