Tens of thousands of vehicles drive on US Highway 287 every day, moving north to south through the state of Texas. The state traditionally uses salt or sand to de-ice the roads when freezing rain or snow hit. But sald and sand deployment takes time, puts staff at risk, and causes bridge corrosion, pavement damage and water contamination. In 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University, installed a geothermal heat pump de-icing system onto a portion of the highway over a bridge in Fort Worth, Texas.

The system circulates heated fluid beneath the bridge deck to maintain a constant temperature, preventing snow and ice from accumulating or forming at all. Since the results are immediate, this technology may save lives. By utilizing external piping mounted to the bridge’s underside rather than embedding it within the concrete, it is easily accessible for maintenance and repair.

The project provides a scalable, easily maintainable, retrofitting solution and can be implemented on bridges worldwide.