The Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation wants truckers and motorists to know that it’s made final adjustments to its fleet of trucks, front-end loaders and other equipment in preparation for winter and has even battled its first snowstorm of the season.

“With more than 40,000 miles of state-maintained roads in Pennsylvania, we are always prepared for the worst winter conditions, even early-season storms,” said PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler. “This year we have readied our equipment and crews for what some forecasters are saying could be an old-fashioned Pennsylvania winter…we could be in for a long season.”

With a budget of about $175 million, PennDOT's 5,000 crewmembers work with more than 2,200 snowplows, 520 front-end loaders and 120 anti-icing trucks to make travel safer during winter weather. So far, PennDOT said it has stockpiled more than 570,000 tons of salt and will re-supply throughout winter.

PennDOT is also going to continue with its anti-icing initiative on major roads across the state. Anti-icing involves PennDOT crews pre-treating roads with salt water, or other ice-prohibiting solutions, before freezing precipitation begins, said Biehler. Pre-treating prevents ice from forming a strong bond with the road surface, giving PennDOT crews a jump on keeping the roads drivable, he said.