100 snowplows receiving new technology to improve efficiency

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s snowplows are getting a high-tech update to help clear the roads faster and more efficiently.

This year, the Utah Department of Transportation will install vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, technology in 100 more of its snowplows.

The technology revolves around small wireless boxes that connect the plows to various infrastructures, including traffic signals, giving them the ability to influence green lights.

“As it approaches an intersection it requests a green light, and if the signal can supply a green light for them, it does,” explained Blaine Leonard, UDOT transportation technology engineer, in a news release. ” … They just keep driving and keep moving and paying attention to the lights.”

The technology can extend green lights or even change lights from red to green so plows can spend more time clearing the roads and less time waiting in traffic.

“When it comes to plowing our roads, the more mobile we can be, the better. The less stops we have to make, the better,” UDOT spokesperson Mitch Shaw told KSL NewsRadio.

This V2X system is about the size of a small laptop that can be installed behind the driver’s side seat or underneath the dashboard.

Leonard said the system is designed with the purpose of helping plow drivers without being a distraction.

“They don’t have to flip a switch, they don’t have to issue a command, they don’t have to notice whether it’s working or not. They just look for green lights and keep driving,” he said.

There are already about 100 plows installed with this technology. By next winter, two-thirds of all Utah’s snowplows will have V2X.

“[Traffic light] preemption makes our job night and day difference,” said Brian Sommer, UDOT plow driver, in a news release. “Traffic goes smoothly, it’s safer because I have cars moving out of my way … If the plows aren’t moving then we’re not moving the snow. So, the roads stay worse the longer we’re in traffic.”

Overall, these systems are designed to improve safety for drivers and help clear roads faster.

“If we can plow those higher capacity roads quicker, than the whole grid— the whole transportation system— we’ll be able to get to that quicker as well,” Shaw said.

In the future, this technology will also be able to send messages to other drivers about road conditions, work zones and sharp curves.

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