The area will get 29 snow plows -- 14 in Dallas and 15 for Fort Worth -- said Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Pettit. He expects the plows, which will be hooked up to dump trucks, to be operational by the first of the year. Pettit did not know how much the plows would cost.
Pettit said that in the past, officials waited for plows to arrive from colder parts of the state, like Amarillo and Lubbock.
"It's a little smarter for us to actually have some plows stationed here, so that we don't have to wait hours or even a day to get those plows shifted from other districts," he told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT.
The National Weather Service says Dallas' average yearly snowfall is 1.2 inches. In the week before February's Super Bowl, 3.7 inches fell.
Pettit said during that storm it took more than a day to get the snow plows to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and then the drivers needed time to rest before getting out to clear roads.
He said that the storm around the Super Bowl made it clear that it would be useful to have snow plows available in the area.
"We got hit before so we could get hit again with that kind of storm," Pettit told The Associated Press.
How much the new snow plows will be able to clear would depend on various factors, including the severity of the storm and where it hits, he said. He said the plows will be sent to the areas of most need, including high traffic areas and interstates.
"We're able to respond quicker," Pettit said.
In the case of another major storm like the one leading up to the Super Bowl, he said they would still need to bring in more snow plows.
