Town of Huntington Reveals $2.5M Upgraded Snow Arsenal

The Town of Huntington’s snow squad is here.

The Highway Department displayed their $2.5 million worth of upgrades to their snow arsenal for the winter season on Friday.

Now all we need is snow, but will it ever come?

If snowflakes ever decide to fall from the sky, the Town is definitely prepared.

Highway Department upgraded its fleet of snow plowing vehicles, purchased 10 new dump trucks and refurbished 10 others to extend their lives by about 15 years.

A fleet of 70 dump trucks have an average lifespan of 25 years and require considerable maintenance to keep them on the road, but these 10 new trucks have five-year, bumper-to-bumper warranties, which the Town says should save on maintenance costs.

“We’re hoping there won’t be snow this year, but if there is, we can rest easy knowing that the Highway Department is prepared,” Supervisor Steve Petrone said in a press release. “This is a great opportunity to show what the Town of Huntington can do when there is great cooperation, namely, first and foremost, working together with a most effective highway superintendent.”

The Town has added a few other technology upgrades for their snow fleet:

• The Highway Department has equipped its vehicles with GPS technology and has purchased 200 GPS systems to be given to private contractors who the Town plans to hire to plow snow. These trackers will allow the department’s operations center to track their locations and deploy them where it is most needed.
• The department’s 43 foreman were given tablet computers to obtain real-time information when in the field so they can quickly reposition equipment.

If it ever starts snowing, residents can get storm information from the Town’s website, the Town’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

In the case of snow emergencies, automated telephone calls through the Town’s Huntington Alert system. Residents with an unlisted telephone number, or with a preference to be called on a mobile phone, should sign up through the Town’s website.

Image via Town of Huntington