Northwest Parkway seeks names for new snowplow fleet

BROOMFIELD — Northwest Parkway, the 9.05-mile tolled expressway linking Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 36, is inviting the public to help name its new fleet of five snowplows through a naming contest that opened Monday.

Entries will be accepted through Nov. 20 here. Finalists will be announced Nov. 30, and members of the public will have one week to choose their favorites from the finalist list before the five winning entries are announced Dec. 7.

The winning names will be printed on the parkway’s snowplows.

The parkway has completed orientation for its 15 seasonal snowplow drivers and is ready for the 2026-2027 Colorado winter season. During orientation in October, drivers reviewed safety procedures and were trained on the operation of its new snowplow trucks.

Drivers also learned to use the snow computers that control each truck’s application systems. In addition, the parkway introduced a new mobile app that makes it easier for drivers to clock in and out during storm shifts.

Earlier this fall, members of the Northwest Parkway maintenance team attended the 46th Annual American Public Works Association Western Snow & Ice Conference and National Snow Roadeo. This year’s theme, “Snow Troopers: The Coolest People We Know,” recognized the crews who work around the clock to keep roads open in winter. One of the parkway’s new snowplows was featured in the conference’s equipment display.

The preparations come as forecasters point to a potentially active season for Colorado. The winter outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration favors above-normal precipitation for most of the state, with roughly an 80% chance of a very strong El Niño from December through February, according to OpenSnow.

“Our seasonal drivers are a key part of keeping the parkway safe and open all winter,” Rick Ellis, engineering and maintenance manager for the Northwest Parkway, said in a prepared statement. “With our crew trained and our new trucks ready, we are prepared for whatever this season brings.”

The tollway links Broomfield to surrounding communities including Lafayette, Superior, Boulder, Erie, Thornton and Northglenn. Serving about 20,000 daily trips, it is operated under a concession agreement between the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority, composed of the municipalities of Broomfield and Lafayette, and VINCI Highways.

VINCI, a roadway concessionaire and mobility-services provider headquartered in Nanterre, France, manages a 2,330-mile network across 13 countries. In the United States, it is active in six states. Besides the Northwest Parkway, it manages the Ohio River bridges connecting Indiana and Kentucky as well as tolling services in California, Texas and Georgia.

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