Caltrans apparatus clears more snow at one time
By Barbara Barte Osborn and Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee
A new snowplow that can remove snow from two lanes at once should speed up the clearing of Interstate 80 over Donner Summit for skiers and other travelers.
Caltrans began using the new plow Thursday on I-80 from Kingvale to Truckee, said Rochelle Jenkins, Caltrans public information officer, in a news release.
The tow plow allows more snow to be removed at once. Photo/Provided
State Department of Transportation snow-removal employees demonstrated the new $80,000 “tow-plow” Wednesday at Caltrans’ Kingvale Maintenance Station near the summit.
“The tow-plow is snow removal equipment never seen in California,” Jenkins said in the release.
The new equipment will plow 28 feet of roadway at a time, whereas regular plows have a removal width of 10 feet to 12 feet, according to the release. Pulled by a vehicle designed for the purpose, the tow-plow can be activated to maneuver to the right of the vehicle, allowing for two lanes to be plowed at once.
Our tax dollars at work. We must keep the ski bunnies and truckers happy. I bet Calif. is the only state in the country who has one of these.
Just a short bit of research found that several states in the US are using this plow system as well as Ontario, Canada. Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maine and Ohio. The report by the State of Ohio on the subject is available in .pdf online.
We don’t keep the roads open to keep snow bunnies and truckers happy. We keep the roads open to ensure that our economy is thriving and to fulfill our responsibility under several agreements with other government entities. Highway 80 is part of the Interstate Highway System and provides significant East-West commerce for our busy state as well as important national defense readiness envisioned by Dwight Eisenhower when he championed the project in 1955. The locals benefit from the road being open as well.
Our tax dollars at work indeed.
Excellent retort dumbfounded.
This is actually an example of government spending that boosts the economy.
Yes its a nice PLOW ,but has anyone thought it be useless in our town,plowing the snow to the middle has to cost more,one way or another.
I’ve had to answer that question so many times to people who come from out town.”Most think wtf?”
Still amazes me that Nevada roads are almost always so clean, cleared, after major snow events.