AASHTO Journal, 30 September 2016
After using two snow-clearing tow plows on highways in the Casper area since 2014, the Wyoming Department of Transportation said it will add four more to its maintenance fleet this winter to plow lanes in the areas of Douglas, Gillette, Patrick Draw and Riverton.
When snowplows are equipped with the trailing tow plows that deploy to one side, a single truck can do the work of two. WYDOT said the trailer-mounted, 26-foot-wide plows allow a snowplow driver to clear and treat with brine two lanes of highway, or a lane plus an 8-foot shoulder, in a single pass.
WYDOT also said it expects the four additional tow plows to increase driver productivity and decrease the agency’s snow removal expenses.
The tow plow trailers are equipped with the same warning lights that are displayed on the back of conventional plow trucks, so to motorists behind the trailer it may look like two trucks plowing side by side.
But the announcement reminded drivers to “stay back a safe distance from the plows to give them room to safely clear the highway.”