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Winter Preparations Underway At PennDOT

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Winter is still a couple months off, but PennDOT preparations are already underway.

In the five-county Philadelphia region, PennDOT has more than $27.5 million budgeted and 120,000 tons of salt ready for any winter weather.

PennDOT secretary Leslie Richards says every PennDOT truck and snow plow has Automated Vehicle Locator technology, or AVL.

"The AVL in each truck sends a cellular signal through the system showing where the truck is located," Richards explained.

Richards says those plow locations will be available in real-time on their website, 511pa.com. Useful, she says, to check state roads to see when a plow went through or will go through.

As the average PennDOT plow route takes about two hours to complete, Richards reminds drivers the goal is keep roads passable.

"You will not see bare roads, but we want to make sure they are passable for everybody who needs to be out," she said.

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