The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) is launching a new pilot program called “Track-A-Plow” this week.  The pilot program utilizes technology to track the location of designated state snowplows and provides the information to the public online.

“We are excited to launch the Track-A- Plow program in North Dakota. The driving element behind technology that we implement is to help motorists travel safe,” said NDDOT Director Tom Sorel. “This is one more piece of information that travelers can use to see what is happening on the highways and make more informed decisions when making travel plans.”

Forty-seven NDDOT snowplow trucks at select locations are now equipped with Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) systems which use in-truck technology to log and share data in real time for that truck. The AVL unit in each snowplow truck sends a cellular signal through the system showing where a truck is located, which direction the snowplow is traveling, average speed and when the information was updated. Data is fed automatically to the map online. The information reported is based on cellular coverage so there may be some areas in the state where the snowplow icon won’t show up on the map temporarily.

To find out where the snowplows in the pilot program are working in the state, you can go to NDDOT’s website at dot.nd.gov, click on the Travel Information Map and go to the website link located under the weather radar section called “Track-A-Plow (Pilot Project)”.  Once you are on the map, snowplow icons will show you the current location of each truck working to keep your roads safe.  

The NDDOT has 350 snowplows and will analyze the results of the pilot project on 47 snowplows for a year with plans to expand the technology to more trucks in the future.