The Iowa Department of Transportation has a new tool in its arsenal of snow-removal equipment. It’s called a tow plow. Iowa D.O.T. winter operations director Annette Dunn says the tow plow is pulled behind a standard plow truck to remove more snow, faster.
“So, the plow truck is obviously plowing one lane and the tow plow can be deployed at a 30-degree angle in the lane next to it,” Dunn said. “This will allow us to plow two lanes at one time.” The Iowa D.O.T. purchased three tow plows to be tested for the first time this winter in some of Iowa’s largest cities.
The plows will be used around Des Moines, Waterloo and Sioux City. “We may use those in some other locations to test them out, but those are the locations we’re currently planning on,” Dunn said. Each tow plow carries a price tag of roughly $73,000. By comparison, a new plow truck costs $150,000.
“So, having one person and one truck with the tow plow…we hope will show us some efficiencies in fuel savings and employee operations,” Dunn said. The tow plow is fitted with a 1,200 gallon water tank to add weight and keep the plow in place.
See the plow in action in this video: