McKee and RIDOT announce new addition of 26 snow plows

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Gov. Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation gathered Thursday morning to offer some tips for drivers and to show off 26 new snow plows added to their fleet.

“These new vehicles here, 26 new snow plows will be here to keep our roads clear,” McKee said. “We continue to reinforce the message, when our crews are out doing their work, let’s make sure that we respect the safety issues.”

The governor shared tips for drivers this winter including always keeping snow scrapers and shovels in your car, and when you are out on the road, you should slow down because of slick conditions.

He also advised not crowding a snow plow or driving next to one.

RIDOT said it now has 168 of their own trucks ready to hit the roads and are also supplementing with private vendors, bringing the total to 425.

“These new trucks all have the latest technology in them,” RIDOT Director Peter Alviti said. “They have weather sensors that send back information on roadway conditions back to our roadway center where our admin and managers can deploy the resources that we have more intelligently and efficiently.”