The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is expanding vehicle-to-everything smart technology across northern Utah. Once completed, the technology will support snow removal operations serving more than 90 percent of Utah residents.
The technology allows snowplows to communicate directly with traffic signals and roadside equipment, moving snowplow crews through intersections more quickly by giving snowplows a green light at equipped intersections. This reduces unnecessary stops, allowing plows to move uninterrupted along major corridors during snowstorms.
“In a major storm, every second matters,” UDOT Transportation Technology Engineer Blaine Leonard said. “This technology serves as a digital seatbelt, providing Utah drivers an unseen layer of protection while helping plows move through intersections faster so crews can clear roads more quickly.”
This deployment will equip 259 snowplows and nearly 1,275 signalized intersections on essential winter routes. The agency already has installed roadside units at signalized intersections along state routes, strategically prioritizing snow removal where it has the greatest impact.
“Getting the green light makes a night-and-day difference,” Codie Alsop, a UDOT snowplow driver, said. “We spend less time stopped at lights and more time actually clearing snow. During a storm, that matters.”
UDOT maintains more than 16,000 lane miles statewide and deploys hundreds of snowplows during major storms.