Snow removal operation on roads is essential to ensure winter traffic andstable life in snowy regions. Despite budget constraints, the Japanese road authority has made a great effort at building efficient snow removal systems, proper to regional and weather characteristics. The authors examinethe possibility of efficient use of snow removal machinery as a whole system by adopting multi-functional machinery; that is, development of a mechanics that enables primary (roadways) and secondary (snow-piling zones) snow removal. This paper presents the results of development of a "multi-functional snowplow" that can handle both the functions of a snow removing truck and a rotary snowplow, as well as of the study and confirmation of improvement in the activity ratio, reduction in costs, and site adaptability after its introduction. For the covering abstract see ITRD E143097.
Abstract