A camera shows road conditions on Whiteface Memorial Highway on Monday. (Provided photo — Roy Holzer)

The town of Wilmington and the Ausable River Association are joining forces to study road salt use in the town with a new camera system that streams road conditions on Whiteface Memorial Highway.

Anyone with a smartphone will be able to download the EZView app to check road conditions within a couple of weeks, according to town Supervisor Roy Holzer, and the cameras are already up and running for town employees.

The two-camera system is at the base of the highway. One camera points up the highway toward Santa’s Workshop, and the other points down the mountain toward Wilmington. Town road crews are using the system to monitor and respond to current road conditions, according to a press release from the AsRA, allowing them to maintain safe roads while reducing road salt use.

The camera system cost $1,600, and Holzer said the town split the bill with the AsRA. He said the system will end up saving the town money in reduced salt use, employee time, and wear and tear on plow trucks.

“By being able to look at it (road conditions) live through a camera, it’s becoming, already, a timesaver for our highway superintendent,” he said.

Holzer attributed the advancements to late Wilmington town Supervisor Randy Preston, whose advocacy for reduced road salt in the Adirondacks inspired the law made in his name — the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act. The law was signed in 2020 to protect drinking water and waterways by reducing road salt use in the Adirondacks, and Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed members to the Adirondack Road Salt Task Force this past December.

“We’re pretty excited here in Wilmington about this new technology,” Holzer said. “We’ll try not to get too uppity though.”