I have 4 arborvitaes along the road and we had a particularly bad winter. The outsides of all the trees are "burned" from the road salt. I am apprehensive about cutting the branches off because I think it will look worse to have "half of a vertical tree" What should I do? Also, this winter I was thinking about covering the trees with plastic. Is this a bad idea? Lastly I have another arborvitae (or something similar - it's yellowish-green and quite beautiful) but it's too tall (30-40ft) and blocks the view from my large window. I would like to cut this in half so I can see out of my house. Is there a way to do this so that the tree doesn't look "hacked-off"? Maybe the solution would be to cut it all the way to the ground and let it regrow from the base....

Unless there is new growth emerging, those areas are probably dead. There's no easy choice - either accept the brown look, or cut out the dead and have half a tree. Covering with plastic is not a good idea as it could trap moisture and be detrimental. As for the other one, there is also no easy way to make it look natural. You can cut it back - 1/2 is pretty severe - usually not more than 1/3 should be removed. Once you cut it, it will look like it was hacked back. If you don't quite as much, you can try and reshape what is left to a cylindrical shape. Cutting it to the ground would not be advisable - it will take years to re-grow. You would be better off starting with a new plant.

Okay, how about making a cylindrical wrap out of a tarp to fit around the trees? I need to do something to prevent further winter road-salt damage. I'll leave a "chimney" at the top to leave it open so moisture build up shouldn't be an issue. I am only worried about the bottom 6 feet of the trees where the salt spray occurs. If not, what is the solution? They should make half cylinder barricades out of corrugated irrigation tunnel tubing that you could stake into the ground to block the onslaught of snow and salt from plows.... Building one out of a wood frame and burlap (as I've seen suggested online) would never withstand the weight of the thrown snow up here. It would just knock it over or rip it apart.

Wrapping the trees with burlap might work and reduce some of the direct salt spray, but since it's going to be close to the plant, it's going to hold the salt spray. The idea with the frames and burlap is to create a barrier. There is no easy answer. Unfortunately evergreens are very susceptible to damage from salt, and planted close to a road are going to be affected. I think your only approach is to build a sturdy screen.