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| A KDOT Snow plow clears snow during a winter storm. There are 591 trucks across the state that can be used to clear snow and ice off roadways. |
Parts of the state may see some winter precipitation this week and KDOT crews are ready to combat inclement weather with some of the strongest winter weather fighting machines around: Snow plows and tow plows.
KDOT has 591 trucks that can be used to clear snow and ice off of roadways. Snow plows are a common sight during wintry months. These giant vehicles are essential to traveler safety and for helping commerce continue to move across the the state highway system.
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| A tow plow is a 26-foot-long, independently-steerable plow that can clear two lanes at a time. |
The tow plow is a 26-foot-long, independently-steerable mounted plow that can move to the right or left. It allows a single driver to plow two lanes at a time and frees up other crew members who can concentrate on other highways needing snow removal. Tow plows are big and the truck pulling the tow plow is about the size of a semi-truck. There are seven of these distributed across the state to assist KDOT crews with fighting winter weather and they are located in Goodland, Colby, Hays, Salina, Ottawa, Bonner Springs and Olathe.
While these tow plows are great for clearing multi-lane roads, do not try to pass them and don't crowd any of the plows as KDOT crews work to clear the roads.
Check out this video where our talking cone friends, Mike and Earl, meet with a KDOT truck named Sandy to explain how tow plows work:
For road conditions check out www.kandrive.org or dial 511.
Where were your plows on Sunday? Because they sure weren't anywhere to be found on 81 Southbound or Northbound. That was the most dangerous 70 miles I've ever driven. That wasn't the worst storm I've had to go through. Just the worst kept roads compared to the conditions I've ever seen. And I just came out of worse conditions for twice the distance. The number of stranded cars was impressive in all the wrong ways. If just a couple of plows had been out there, I'm sure not even half those folks ever would have been stuck. Kansas should be ashamed. it wasn't as if it had been plowed and the wind was blowing the snow back over. It was as if Kansas never sent the plows in the first place. Fortunately I was able to make it through. Though now I have to investigate what got destroyed on my exhaust. I can't express how angry I am over the negligence Kansas displayed. The difference was instantly noticeable once I crossed the border from Nebraska. The incompetence is embarrassing. I hope nobody died because Kansas didn't do the right thing. Close it or maintain it. Doing neither is inexcusable.
ReplyDeleteYour information was very helpful and I hope others feel the same. Wonderful work.
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