REDMOND, OR -- Redmond City Councilors will consider a request to purchase a new airport snowplow, at Tuesday's Council meeting. Airport Director Zach Bass says it would replace a 1959 plow that couldn't keep up with this winter's weather. "A great piece of equipment; it’s been rebuilt twice. The last time it was rebuilt was 1984, so it’s been in its current state for 32 years, which is a long time for a piece of equipment. It performed really well but we did find a lot of limitations because of its age and maintenance during this last storm."
The new $550,000 plow features a 4x4 chassis and Bass says would be more versatile than the old vehicle. "Snow equipment for an airport, because of its size, are expensive. To put it in perspective, a city plow that you might see runs an 8’ plow on the front and ours runs a 22’ plow. So, we could do both lanes of Highway 97 with one plow." He tells KBND News the new vehicle would also include a 20' broom that would be more efficient at removing contaminants from the runway year round, and and an air blast system for blowing snow.
