The City unveiled the latest addition to its snow removal fleet January 15. The $340,000 Caterpillar grader, modified for snow removal and winter road maintenance will save money and be good for the environment, said Mayor Bob Maloney during a press conference January 15.
John Oranchuk, the City’s fleet operations manager explained that the new engine in the machine emits near-zero levels of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen which even exceeds the 2014 regulatory standard.
Stacey Wiebe, a heavy construction sales specialist for Caterpillar, explained the company has achieved this in two ways. First is the engine itself. With precision injection timing and increased pressures, the new generation power plants maximize fuel burn efficiency.
The company claims this not only reduces fuel costs and protects the environment, but enhances power, performance and reliability and reduces maintenance.
The second stage of reducing emissions is after treatment technology that further cleans the exhaust by converting oxides of nitrogen to nitrogen and water and filtering remaining particulates.
All of this is good news, according to the mayor, who pointed out just how much city equipment has to work in the winter.
“It takes five days, in 24-hour shifts, to complete one round of snow removal across the city and each removal can cost $75,000 depending on the snow fall,” he said.
Maloney also used the opportunity to try to raise awareness about potential flood threats.
“Residents are reminded not to push snow from residential or commercial property onto city land or into drainage ditches as it leads to increasing spring drainage problems,” he said.
