Skip to main content

Towed snowplough keeps the highway clear

Pennsylvania has a new tool to keep its multi-lane highways moving this winter - a 9.14m long, tow behind snowplough. The state's transport department (PennDOT) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) say the tow plough will allow one truck to do the work of two. Costing between US$99,000- 106,000 each, PennDOT plans to have at least one tow plough in each of its 11 engineering districts by winter 2012.
April 16, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Pennsylvania has a new tool to keep its multi-lane highways moving this winter - a 9.14m long, tow behind snowplough.
 
The state's transport department (4907 PennDOT) and the 4908 Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) say the tow plough will allow one truck to do the work of two.

Costing between US$99,000- 106,000 each, PennDOT plans to have at least one tow plough in each of its 11 engineering districts by winter 2012.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike expects to have four tow ploughs in service this winter.

Normally equipped with a 3.04m or 3.65m wide front plough, PennDOT trucks and some Turnpike trucks are equipped with a 'wing' plough attached to the side of the truck, increasing total ploughing width to about 4.8m-5.4m. A tow plough increases the ploughing width to 7.31m, allowing for two, 3.65m wide lanes to be cleared at once.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Long reach equipment simplifies demolition
    April 13, 2012
    Demolition is a highly specialised business, as the machinery required to carry out the work on high-rise demolition contracts can be very site specific. Today's high reach demolition rig is no longer simply a tracked excavator with a long boom, indeed some machines cannot be used as excavators at all. Likewise a machine that is dedicated to carrying a 2.5 or 3tonne shear or hammer will need to be built to take the stresses and strains of demolition life. Many of the ultra long boom machines are designed
  • India rushing to improve its highway system
    February 9, 2012
    Despite the world economic slowdown, India still seems in a rush to improve its highway system as Patrick Smith reports. Later this year India will be seen by hundreds of millions worldwide when the country's capital New Delhi hosts its biggest event ever.
  • Micro surfacing the Brooklyn Bridge with Bergkamps’ M210 paver
    May 16, 2018
    A major job for micro surfacing took place on the Brooklyn Bridge near New York. It was the third time in Ken Messina’s career that he would provide micro surfacing for the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, built in 1883. Messina, as president of New Jersey-based Asphalt Paving Systems (APS), knew only too well the challenges that lay ahead. And there were many. There would be only a brief window of opportunity for paving, with lane closures starting at 10pm and ending at 5am. The cool, humid atmosphere would a
  • Formwork plays a leading role in global infrastructure projects
    June 13, 2012
    New and highly regarded existing formwork systems have been used in major recent transport-related construction projects across the globe. Guy Woodford looks at some of their applications The multi-million dollar Mississippi River Bridge project in the United State is creating a vital new gateway between Illinois and Missouri. Central to the project is the realignment and reconstruction of Interstate 70 and a new landmark bridge, featuring two pylons projecting vertically from the Mississippi river bed w