SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- A nearly three-quarters of a million piece of machinery will be clearing ice and snow from South Dakota roadways this winter as part of the state Department of Transportation's fleet.

There are 26 tow-plow snowplow units in the state. That includes the 74-foot-long, 28-foot-wide at blade extension unit that was inside a maintenance shed on Thursday morning at the SD DOT site in Sioux Falls.

A tow plow has two blades on each side and is attached to a trailer pulled by a snowplow.

"It's a big trailer," said Travis Dressen, the Mitchell Region Engineer. "It takes a lot of training for folks to be a tow plow operator."

A primary operator is trained as well as a backup operator.

Sioux Falls is part of the SD DOT Mitchell region, which has 13 snowplow tow plow un

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