Page 38 • September 21, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Snow & Ice Section • Construction Equipment Guide DOTs Put Variety of Equipment to Work Removing Snow Range, must be able to rely on experts doing the grunt work of clearing the roadway. UDOT’s snow team includes roughly 481 full-time plow drivers, plus 80 construction staff and seasonal employees with commer- cial driver’s licenses who can operate snow- plows. The statewide fleet consists of 508 snowplow trucks, 11 self-propelled snow- blowers and 13 TowPlows. Wasatch Peaks Take a Hammering Each Winter On the eastern outskirts of Salt Lake City, I-80 winds through Parley’s Canyon and toward the self-same-named Summit at 7,120 ft. Here the interstate is the highest point for the roadway in Utah — one that is regularly buried by deep snow each season. “Last year was a pretty heavy winter for us,” explained Daniel Page, UDOT’s direc- tor of Maintenance, Asset & Facility Management. “Between Parley’s, Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood canyons [all near Salt Lake City] is our most concen- trated area for snowfall. It’s not uncommon in Parley’s Canyon and the other areas to see three- to four-inches an hour for a consider- able amount of time.” Page said UDOT relies heavily on snow- plows mounted on big dump trucks, as well as trailer-mounted plows. UDOT prefers to employ the echelon plowing method on many freeways, where several dump-truck snowplows move along the road in a staggered formation. Page described the practice as being much faster than what can be accomplished in one pass by a single snowplow. UDOT promotes ech- elon plowing because it clears the major routes quickly and efficiently, he said. The combination of deep snow and steep grades can cause problems with a plow oper- ation, but for those trucks designated to work in the higher elevations, UDOT mechanics boost their horsepower and outfit them with higher torque range, Page explained. Throwing, Blasting Snow Also Utilized In the UDOT yard at Kamas, due east of Salt Lake City, the agency has big, loader-mounted snow blowers, impera- tive for moving snow off the area’s mountain roads. Page said these machines are Kodiak models that “are big, turbo-charged, jet-fired vehicles that our guys use to throw around a serious amount of snow.” “Usually, we take them up into our moun- tain passes that are closed seasonally. Then, as spring and summer approaches, we use see SNOW page 40 SNOW from page 37 Caltrans’ job is to keep traffic moving safely on an interstate built to cross the Sierra crest at the Donner Summit, two miles north of the pass itself, at an ele- vation of 7,240 ft. While many operators of snowplows, spread- ers, blowers and other equipment work sea- sonally, for the professionals in charge of maintaining that equipment, it’s a year- round job. Caltrans photo Caltrans photo The New Fox VersaPlow snow removal system features a revolutionary new GHVLJQ WKDW SURYLGHV WKH XOWLPDWH LQ HIÀFLHQF\ FRPELQLQJ WKH IXQFWLRQV RI D ER[VW\OH FRQWDLQPHQW SXVKHU D EDFNGUDJ FRQWDLQPHQW ER[ DQG D FRQYHQWLRQDO VQRZSORZ LQWR RQH UXJJHG SLHFH RI HTXLSPHQW +\GUDXOLFDOO\ UROO WKH HQG SDQHOV LQWR DQ\ SRVLWLRQ IURP WKH FDE $OO IXQFWLRQV DUH DOZD\V DW \RXU ÀQJHUWLSV www.foxattachments.com 800-433-5620 The Ultimate Tool for Snow Removal! WINDROW STACK PUSH PULL Push, Pull, Windrow & Stack with One Plow! ® Patent Pending 13018 Gilbert Road • Riley, MI 48041 810.392.3635 cbx.business.site
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 38 • September 21, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Snow & Ice Section • Construction Equipment Guide
DOTs Put Variety of Equipment to Work Removing SnowRange, must be able to rely on experts doingthe grunt work of clearing the roadway.
UDOT’s snow team includes roughly 481full-time plow drivers, plus 80 constructionstaff and seasonal employees with commer-cial driver’s licenses who can operate snow-plows. The statewide fleet consists of 508snowplow trucks, 11 self-propelled snow-blowers and 13 TowPlows.
Wasatch Peaks Take aHammering Each Winter
On the eastern outskirts of Salt Lake City,I-80 winds through Parley’s Canyon andtoward the self-same-named Summit at7,120 ft. Here the interstate is the highestpoint for the roadway in Utah — one that isregularly buried by deep snow each season.
“Last year was a pretty heavy winter forus,” explained Daniel Page, UDOT’s direc-tor of Maintenance, Asset & FacilityManagement. “Between Parley’s, LittleCottonwood and Big Cottonwood canyons[all near Salt Lake City] is our most concen-trated area for snowfall. It’s not uncommonin Parley’s Canyon and the other areas to seethree- to four-inches an hour for a consider-able amount of time.”
Page said UDOT relies heavily on snow-
plows mounted on big dump trucks, as wellas trailer-mounted plows.
UDOT prefers to employ the echelonplowing method on many freeways, whereseveral dump-truck snowplows move alongthe road in a staggered formation. Pagedescribed the practice as being much fasterthan what can be accomplished in one passby a single snowplow. UDOT promotes ech-elon plowing because it clears the majorroutes quickly and efficiently, he said.
The combination of deep snow and steepgrades can cause problems with a plow oper-
ation, but for those trucks designated towork in the higher elevations, UDOTmechanics boost their horsepower andoutfit them with higher torque range,Page explained.
Throwing, Blasting Snow Also Utilized
In the UDOT yard at Kamas, dueeast of Salt Lake City, the agency has
big, loader-mounted snow blowers, impera-tive for moving snow off the area’s mountainroads. Page said these machines are Kodiakmodels that “are big, turbo-charged, jet-firedvehicles that our guys use to throw around aserious amount of snow.”
“Usually, we take them up into our moun-tain passes that are closed seasonally. Then,as spring and summer approaches, we use
see SNOW page 40
SNOW from page 37
Caltrans’ job is to keep traffic moving safely on an interstate built to cross theSierra crest at the Donner Summit, two miles north of the pass itself, at an ele-vation of 7,240 ft.
While many operators of snowplows, spread-ers, blowers and other equipment work sea-sonally, for the professionals in charge ofmaintaining that equipment, it’s a year-round job.
Caltrans photo
Caltrans photo
The New Fox VersaPlow snow removal system features a revolutionary new
www.foxattachments.com800-433-5620
The Ultimate Tool for Snow Removal!
WINDROW STACKPUSH PULL
Push, Pull, Windrow & Stack with One Plow!
®
Patent Pending
13018 Gilbert Road • Riley, MI 48041810.392.3635cbx.business.site
Related Documents
