Claremont asks residents to name two new plow trucks

Claremont is asking residents to help name two new plow trucks, but the contest also puts a spotlight on how much work the city’s winter fleet is expected to handle when the snow starts falling.

The poll opened Tuesday and runs through June 15. City officials said the top two names will be chosen at the end of the voting period and revealed before Claremont’s Fourth of July celebration, which is being promoted alongside the nation’s 250th anniversary. The naming ideas came from students at Claremont Middle & Elementary School, and the city thanked the Claremont School District for submitting the options.

Behind the lighthearted vote is a more practical public-works story. The Claremont Department of Public Works says it is responsible for transportation systems, water and wastewater systems, solid waste disposal and cemeteries. In winter, that means a fleet that has to stay ready for a city with approximately 5,700-plus driveways. The city’s snow-removal FAQ says plows do not deviate from assigned routes, and that if every plow spent just 60 seconds at each driveway, it would still take about 95 hours to clear driveways alone.

That is why two new plow trucks matter beyond the naming contest. Claremont says it cannot give exact times for when a street will be plowed because weather conditions change quickly, a reminder that reliability matters as much as speed when storms hit Sullivan County. New trucks can help the city keep routes covered and reduce the strain on equipment that has to work through repeated winter events.

The city is also active on other fleet and infrastructure fronts. Claremont has posted procurement information for a water dump truck with plow equipment, and it previously sought bids for two small dump trucks with plow equipment, signaling ongoing maintenance needs across the public works department. Claremont operates under a City Council/City Manager form of government, and the council meets at City Hall on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m.

The truck-naming contest also fits a broader Granite State habit. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation brought back its statewide Name A Plow Contest for a second year in 2025-26, after an earlier round drew more than 3,000 votes and produced names including Control-Salt-Delete, Tomie Deplowa and Live Free and Plow. In Claremont, the names may be playful, but the work behind them is the serious business of keeping roads passable when winter returns.