WYDOT Builds It’s Own Snowplows, Who Knew?

Did you know that the State Of Wyoming builds its own snow plow trucks?

We probably all imagined they just bought them premade and were shipped to our state.

It turns out that only some of the truck arrives premade, like the chassis, the cab, and the engine.

The rest of the truck is built to Wyoming standards and needs right here in our state by the state of Wyoming.

The work is done by WYDOT in the Department's fabrication shop in Cheyenne.

In the video below you can watch project manager Bryan Wenger, WYDOT Equipment Program Manager.

WYDOT's fabrication shop builds and rebuilds about 25 trucks a year.

These trucks are loaded with highly specialized equipment that will serve the state of Wyoming for 15 years or more.

During the process, they will take a basic truck chassis into a snowplow that can handle Wyoming weather extremes.

Eight fabricators are working in the shop, including machinists.

It takes, on average, about 380 hours to build a snow plow truck.

It costs about $275,000 for a basic truck that includes everything a driver will need to battle the elements and keep those roads open.

High-end components are used to stave off corrosion and battle extreme temperatures and damage that can be caused by the plowing process.

The workers have kept trucks in service for over 400,000 miles that are still in use.

As expensive as all of this sounds, doing the work in-house saves a lot of time and money.

WYDOT would like to remind you to give these trucks plenty of room. Don't tailgate and please don't pass them when they are working the road. It's just dangerous.