Yesterday’s winter storm was Arizona’s first test of a new kind of snowplow that can clear two lanes at once.
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will run the new equipment — called a "TowPlow" — on Interstate 40 between Williams and Bellemont. The TowPlow is mounted on a trailer and pulled behind a conventional snowplow. It can swing sideways to clear the second lane.
Engineer Bob Lannert said he invented the TowPlow in Missouri a decade ago, as a way to clear more lanes with the same number of operators.
“The conventional plow will clear 10 to 11 feet wide, and with a wing on it, it might clear 15 feet wide,” he said. “I challenged myself to be able to plow two lanes wide.”
More than 25 states now make use of TowPlows. ADOT purchased its first for $170,000. Winter operations manager Mark Trennepohl said it may add more to the fleet after this pilot run.
“We expect more severe and more frequency of storms as we go into the spring given our El Nino winter,” Trennepohl said. “We have no doubt that the Tow Plow will perform well. We didn’t get it here to prove that it works; that’s been well proven.”
Trennepohl warns drivers not to pass the TowPlow while it’s operating and to stay back at least 50 feet.