The Ohio Turnpike has announced the eight winners of its second annual Name-a-Snowplow contest. Each winner will receive a $100 gift card.
The winning entries are: Ctrl-Salt-Delete, Blizzard Wizard, Plow Chicka Plow Wow, You’re Killin’ Me Squalls, The Big LePlowski, The Blizzard of Oz, Ohio Thaw Enforcement and Clearopathtra.
A snowplow will be named at the each of the Ohio Turnpike’s eight maintenance buildings along the 241-mile toll road.
“Motorists should take every precaution to avoid passing the snowplow trucks and allow extra space for the crews to clear the road. Don’t crowd the plow,” said Ferzan Ahmed, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. “The safest place to be on the road is behind a snowplow truck.”
More than 5,500 names were submitted to ohioturnpike. org from October 24 to November 20. Turnpike officials selected the top 50 names for a public vote. Nearly 1,100 votes were cast.
The contest launch coincided with the turnpike’s annual safety inspection of all equipment, which was completed from October 18 to 21.
“Snowplow crews are available at any given moment to maintain the Ohio Turnpike’s 1,395 lane miles, 31 toll plaza interchanges and 14 service plazas across 13 counties in northern Ohio,” said Mr. Ahmed. “The entire Ohio Turnpike can be plowed once per hour with our current staffing and equipment levels at eight maintenance buildings.”
Last season, the turnpike’s maintenance and roadway crews handled 55 winter storm events, one more than the previous season, and worked more than 32,000 hours to keep the turnpike and its facilities clear of snow and ice.
More than 309,000 gallons of de-icing liquid and 56,000 tons of salt were used to remove snow and ice from the roadway and bridges last season. On average, about 293,000 gallons of de-icing liquid and 65,000 tons of salt are used per year.
