GPS Tracking Devices Reveal What Roads Have Been Plowed

Less than 100 years ago, there was no such thing as GPS tracking on snow plows and it could be days before the snow plows made it to your streets. These days, this is no longer the case. Now, it only takes a few clicks of your mouse to see if the state roads have been plowed yet. And more and more municipalities and counties are employing GPS tracking for their snow plowing and the benefits it provides.

For instance, earlier this winter, weather forecasters anticipated that around 16 inches of snow was going to fall on Madison County. The predictions of when the snow storm would begin and what the accumulation would be varied, however, prior to the storm, the three local governments of the county spent a full day preparing for it. Snow plows were lined up in their garage filled with fuel and salt ready to tackle the roads. Next to the garage off Madison Ave was a shed filled with loads of salt for refilling the trucks.

Residents were finally able to track their county roads and see when they were going to be plowed or if they have already been thanks to an Internet connection and GPS tracking.

According to Paul Fontecchio, Director of Brown County Interim Public Works, each truck can be tracked by GPS to see where they have been, where they are going and how long their work takes. Route data can be recorded and analyzed by GPS so they can be changed if needed.

In another case, almost 700 of nearly 2500 statewide vehicles through PennDot were equipped with GPS tracking that provided up-to-the-minute data through the Pennsylvania state’s 511PA site and mobile app.

This technology is expected to not just help officials review truck material usage and movement following a winter storm, but also help them while the storms are happening, says Leslie Richards, Transportation Secretary.

Residents will be able to see all plows that are equipped with GPS that are presently on the streets simply by going to the 511PA website and selecting ‘Plow Trucks”. They will have the ability to see a snow plow’s route over the last couple of hours by selecting any individual snow plow icon and then clicking on “View Historical Route.”

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