Duluth, MN Snow Plow Routes
An independent model built from OpenStreetMap, not Duluth’s own plow routes.
Duluth, MN has a road network of 10,200 edges across 3 priority tiers: 1,786 arterial (18%), 1,395 collector (14%), and 6,846 residential (67%). The network spans 1624.5 km of roads requiring service. PlowPath’s CARP solver achieved a best deadhead ratio of 22.1% with a 1-truck fleet, meaning only 22.1% of total travel was wasted repositioning. 12 solver configurations have been analyzed for this city.
Planned routes against nearest-street routing
| Trucks | Nearest street | Planned | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 713 mi (1,147 km) | 313 mi (505 km) | 56% |
| 2 | 756 mi (1,217 km) | 330 mi (531 km) | 56% |
| 3 | 911 mi (1,466 km) | 331 mi (533 km) | 64% |
| 4 | 987 mi (1,589 km) | 359 mi (578 km) | 64% |
| 5 | 1,016 mi (1,635 km) | 328 mi (528 km) | 68% |
| 6 | 1,264 mi (2,035 km) | 340 mi (547 km) | 73% |
Nearest-street routing sends each truck to the closest unplowed street: a baseline, not Duluth’s own routes.
How many roads does Duluth, MN need to plow?
Duluth, MN’s network has 10,200 road edges totaling 1624.5 km of roads requiring service. Roads are classified into 3 priority tiers: 1,786 arterial (18%), 1,395 collector (14%), and 6,846 residential (67%).
What is the optimal plow route for Duluth, MN?
PlowPath’s CARP solver achieved a 22.1% deadhead ratio — the lowest wasted travel across 12 configurations tested. A lower deadhead ratio means less fuel, salt, and time spent repositioning between service passes.
How many snow plows does Duluth, MN need?
That is Duluth, MN’s call: it depends on how soon the town wants every street clear, and on the trucks and drivers it has. This page models Duluth, MN with fleets of 1 to 6 trucks from one depot, using an assumed truck rather than the town’s own. Adding trucks mostly shortens the shift, while total blade-up changes far less; each run gives its modelled hours. The sensitivity analysis shows how fleet size moves them.