It requires lots of energy to melt snow and ice and it is more economical to remove it or push it aside. Also, if it refreezes from a liquid it makes roads slippery and dangerous. Salt is very corrosive and until they start manufacturing cars out of stainless steel too much salt is very destructive.

The time it takes to melt the volume of snow we get here would slow the snow vacuum to a crawl. Plowing isn't necessarily fast but it is cost efficient, far more cost efficient that melting the snow as the vehicle goes down the street.

The are snow melting machines available now but they are set up at a site and the snow is hauled to them. Some cities use this method to get rid of snow that they haul away from business districts.

I agree with Hyenuf.

I expect you're not from an area where there is much snow. Its seldom that its light enough that you can just 'sweep' it.

Also, putting it into a 'tank' to melt it would be a wasted step--if you're going to melt it, just aim your fire-jets at the road.

But again, too much energy wasted.

Also, they don't put brine on the roads, they put a dry mixture of sand and salts. If it were brine, it would run-off before it did it's job.

Actually I was thinking you could use the heat from the exaust to melt the snow. However, I have heard of brine being used before and if there is the worry of the stuff running off before its effective use, well then that would be the problem of melting the snow in the first place.

I suggest using convicts to shovel the snow to earn their keep. Either that, or cover all the roads with roofs or tarps to keep the snow off.

BTW, if the scientists are right, global warming will solve the problem before too long.