The Connecticut Department of Transportation is sending resources and personnel to Buffalo, New York, as the region braces for another round of snow after a massive storm dropped nearly 6 feet across the region and left seven people dead.
"This early and massive snowfall has paralyzed much of New York and, while we can, we should help our neighbors to the west," Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement on Wednesday. "It is reassuring that we have cooperative, reciprocal arrangements in times of need, similar to what we try to do with major power outages and even fires and other emergencies in the region."
Malloy's office said the DOT is sending 22 staff members to New York with three "jumbo snow blowers," three plow trucks and other equipment that will operate around the clock.
"[Snow] builds up on the shoulders and before you know it, it falls on the roadway and you have nowhere to move that snow to," said DOT spokesperson Kevin Nursick. "That's where these heavy jumbo industrial snow throwers come into play. We can literally move about 1500 tons of snow per hour with each piece of equipment."
The governor's office said the snow blowers were purchased in October 2013.
"They are serious, heavy duty snow throwers that would literally suck up a small car and spit it out, so snow is easy for these types of machines," Nursick said.
Workers and equipment will head out around 2 a.m. Thursday and remain in New York until Monday, Nov. 24 at the earliest. Nursick said they're prepared to stay longer.
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"Deployed strategically, they will be able to open up a lot of very clogged roads very quickly," Nursick explained. "They're basically clearing a path about 8 feet wide, and it could be snow 5 feet deep."
Another round of snow is expected to bring an additional 2-3 to the region by late Thursday.
This winter, the state has 632 working plows, "ample supplies of salt and the liquid salt-brine material" used to treat roads and bridges and 200 private plow contractors, according to Malloy's office.
