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The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has crowned a winner in its 2026 Name the Super Snow Plow contest — and the people's choice is Plow Force One.
According to the PA Turnpike Commission, Plow Force One beat out four other finalists — Darth Blader, Big Leplowski, Optimus Plow, and Sir Plows-A-Lot — to claim the top title. The contest drew nearly 1,200 name suggestions from the public before officials narrowed the field to five contenders. Plow Force One pulled in more than 400 votes during the final round of polling, which launched in March and closed last week. In all, the contest reached roughly 140,000 social media users, with participants casting their votes by "liking" their favorite name in the comments on the PA Turnpike's Facebook and Instagram pages.
Craig Shuey, Chief Operating Officer for the PA Turnpike, praised the public's participation. "Thank you to all who participated in this year's contest," Shuey said, as reported by the Times Leader. "It was great seeing the enthusiasm from travelers across the Commonwealth. Our snow plow operators are a critical part of maintaining mobility and protecting motorists during our winter weather operations, and this contest was a fun way to engage the public with the important work our operators do."
The new super snow plow is no ordinary piece of equipment. It is a 550-horsepower, tri-drive truck with three rear axles. Its combined front and wing plows span 27 feet — wide enough to clear more than two lanes of the turnpike in a single pass. The plan calls for using Plow Force One alongside a second truck during heavy storms, allowing both vehicles together to sweep all lanes clean in one run.
As reported by ABC27, Plow Force One made its debut this past winter season, operating out of Somerset, Pennsylvania, an area known for heavy snowfall. By the end of January, the truck had already cleared 3,500 miles of snow. The PA Turnpike plans to move the equipment to other locations along the system over time to test its effectiveness in different conditions.
As the second-largest tolling agency in the United States, the PA Turnpike maintains nearly 3,000 snow miles — roughly the distance from Harrisburg to Seattle. That work falls to approximately 450 licensed plow operators, 60 mechanics and fleet staff, and 40 Traffic Operations Center staff who work around the clock during winter storms.
With winter operations wrapping up later this month, the PA Turnpike says it will explore ways to display the Plow Force One name on the truck itself ahead of next winter. The name may also appear in Commission communications and winter safety outreach throughout the coming season.