Winter Up Close: MnDOT Unveils New Snowplow Cameras

Minnesotans can now view winter road conditions up close and personal with Minnesota Department of Transportation’s new "plow cams." MnDOT announced Wednesday that some of the agency’s 838 snowplows are equipped with cameras that show real-time road conditions along plow routes.

“The plow cams are another way for travelers to make good decisions about their travel plans during the snow and ice season,” said Kelly Braunig, 511 program manager, in a statement. “If they go on the 511 site and see that travel is not advised, they can actually see an image of the road the cameras take as the plow is traveling. Seeing is believing.”

The plow cams are available on the MnDot's 511 website and the 511 app.

Photos have captions that give the plow number, the date, time and location of the plow. Images will be displayed for two hours. If a new image is not taken for 15 minutes because, for example, a snowplow has stopped to refuel, the snowplow icon will be removed from the map until the plow is active again, according to a news release.

• Here's How Minnesota's 'Tow Plows' Work

The active trucks displayed on 511 only represent a portion of MnDOT’s fleet for snow and ice and other maintenance activities. Not all of the cameras are fully implemented in the trucks, but 200 cameras were purchased for this winter season. MnDOT is in the testing stage this season, which will allow the agency to make decisions on whether to install additional cameras.

“All the new features we’re putting on 511 come down to intelligent transportation,” said Braunig. “We want to be on the cutting edge of that. If motorists can just pick one or two features to use, they can make better travel decisions.”

Image via Minnesota Department of Transportation