Pittsburgh To Bolster Snow Removal Fleet

PITTSBURGH, PA — City officials are looking to purchase six new trucks and rent another six to augment the city's snow removal fleet. The move comes as people in numerous Pittsburgh neighborhoods complained about delays in getting their streets cleared during a particularly snowy January.

The truck purchases and rentals will cost $470,000 and come from the city's capital budget.

“It is clear that we must make additional investments and improvements in our equipment and
operations to effectively and efficiently prepare and respond to winter weather," Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement. "This announcement is an important step forward in providing our public works employees with the tools they need to treat and clear our roadways.”

The additional vehicles are meant to improve the city's ability to address winter weather events as older vehicles are taken out of service for maintenance and an order of 17 new trucks is delayed due to global supply chain issues.

The public works department has hired nine additional truck drivers and four laborers to increase staff for the rest of the winter.

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