TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and a number of other state agencies are ready for winter. Earlier this year, NJDOT equipped its fleet, and contractor vehicles, with GPS, in order to provide DOT storm managers with real-time vehicle location information.

One aspect of the program involves the use of approximately 180 sensors at 37 locations throughout the state. The sensors will provide information as temperature, wind speed and direction, and whether pavement is wet or dry, to DOT storm managers. NJDOT said the information will help managers decide when to take anti-icing measures.

NJDOT has approximately 1,870 state and contractor trucks ready for plowing and salt-spreading operations on the nearly 13,000 lane-miles that NJDOT maintains statewide. This number includes 420 state trucks to spread salt, apply brine or plow snow; 1,330 contractor plow trucks; 120 contractor salt-spreader trucks (all numbers are approximate).

NJDOT also has stored 153,000 tons of rock salt, 618,000 gallons of liquid calcium, and 116,000 gallons of brine for de-icing roads. Materials are housed at 70 storage facilities statewide, including 49 domes and 21 sheds. Trucks and other equipment used to fight snow are stored at 68 maintenance yards statewide.

Other state agencies are getting their fleets and equipment ready for winter as well. NJ Transit has winterized hundreds of its rail cars and nearly 2,100 buses in preparation for winter weather. The organization has equipment, including 160 snow blowers, ready to clear snow and spread salt at bus garages, park-and-ride lots, and other facilities. NJ Transit also inspected snow plows for diesel locomotives. Two snow blowers powered by jet engines are also ready to clear ice and snow from tracks and rail switches. NJ TRANSIT has stockpiled 320 tons of salt to melt ice.

The NJ Turnpike Authority, which operates the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, is prepared to deploy about 280 of its own trucks and another 280 contractor trucks for plowing and salt-spreading operations. It has stockpiled 66,300 tons of salt and 192,000 gallons of magnesium chloride.

The South Jersey Transit Authority (SJTA) has 52 trucks ready to plow and spread salt and 4,200 tons of salt and has 16,800 gallons of liquid calcium and 20,000 gallons of brine on hand.