MARSHALL - With more snow inevitably on its way, Marshall residents are going to see more of a new snowplow around the parking lots in town.
Jim Moorse's company, Moorseal, does road construction work in season and pushes snow during the winter. Moorse recently got a contract to clear the parking lot behind the Affiliated Community Medical Centers building, which presents a tricky problem with a lot of curbs and islands. A metal plow can do thousands of dollars of damage to curbs.
A few months ago, Moorse saw a post on an Internet forum about a snowplow that uses a recycled truck tire instead of a steel blade.
Article Photos
Submitted photo
Jim Moorse bought this snowplow, which uses half of a recycled tire instead of a metal plow from a company in Michigan.
The tire came from a mining truck and is 13 feet wide, 10 inches thick, weighs 3,900 pounds and is mounted on a wheel loader.
The tire can go up and over curbs and traffic islands without damaging them and can make close contact with the road surface, scraping them cleaner than a steel plow.
"Only thing is, you have to be careful starting, because this grips the road," Moorse said. "But on slushy days it scrapes like a squeegee."
The plow blades are made by Mensch Manufacturing and were originally designed for farmers to move manure, Moorse said.