Snow Clearing Equipment Added to Provincial Fleet

The provincial government has added 62 plows and 26 loaders to the provincial fleet of snow clearing equipment.

The new equipment began arriving at depots throughout the province in early November and includes:

• 17 plows and seven loaders on the Avalon Peninsula;

• 13 plows and five loaders in eastern Newfoundland;

• 13 plows and four loaders in central Newfoundland; and

• 19 plows and 10 loaders in western Newfoundland.

Snow clearing and ice control services in most of Labrador are provided through contracts with Johnson Construction and Grey Rock Construction.

A five-year lease-to-purchase agreement valued at $19.2 million was awarded to Hickman Truck Centre to lease the 62 plows. A five-year lease-to-purchase agreement valued at $6.8 million was also awarded to Wajax Equipment for lease of the loaders.

As per the tender specifications, each of the plows and loaders will have a purchase option at the end of the five-year period of $100.

In addition, six loaders valued at $153,000 each were purchased from Toromont Cat in St. John’s in 2020.

The new plows and loaders replace older equipment in the department’s current fleet of 328 plow trucks and 157 loaders throughout the province.