Preparations are underway for snow removal season and this winter Knoxville is making sure they won’t be beet… literally.

For the first time, the City of Knoxville will mix beet juice with their road salt to be use during snowy, icy conditions.

Beet juice has become popular in recent years as a way to melt ice and snow because it melts at low temperatures, limits corrosion, and uses less material. and when mixed with salt is supposed to be better for sidewalks.

Knoxville will have 400 pounds of salt sprayed with beet juice on hand for snow removal. They’ll also have 400 pounds of a salt-sand mix.

Maintenance checks of city snow removal equipment are already underway and are expected to completed by October 15th.