Kaitlyn Hughes | news editor

A combination of inexperienced snow plow drivers and broken-down vehicles are why Pittsburgh struggled to clear nearly a foot of snow last week, Mayor Corey O’Connor said.

“We did what we could,” O’Connor said.

The mayor called a roundtable meeting on Monday with Department of Public Works officials to discuss where they can improve for future snowstorms.

During last week’s storm that dropped 11.2 inches of snow on the city, 37 of the city’s 95 snow plows broke down causing O’Connor to declare a state of emergency, which allowed him to call in additional support from outside contractors. Since then, more than 20 trucks have been repaired. Officials blamed the breakdowns on the age of the fleet.

In addition to snow plow failures, many of the drivers were inexperienced with large-scale snowstorms.

“Majority of my drivers have zero to three years experience. They’ve never seen a snow like this,” said Ray Brooks, a DPW supervisor. “With their lack of experience, the challenge is the tight streets. They were reluctant to go onto those streets and the hills.”

The drivers will be trained on their respective routes, which is different from previous years when they were trained on off-street courses.

“Don’t be surprised if you see a plow coming by your house this summer,” said acting Director of the Department of Public Works John McClory.

Last week, O’Connor announced donations that will update the fleet.

UPMC is donating $10 million to the city, which will allow Pittsburgh’s Emergency Medical Services to purchase nine new ambulances and one rescue truck in 2026 and a similar amount of equipment in 2027. This will free up money in the budget to purchase 35 snowplows.

A $2 million donation from the PNC Foundation will finance 15 more plows.

“These are promises we made, and we were going to address them,” O’Connor said Friday at a news conference. “When companies step up, it makes a big difference for all of us.”

McClory said that the workers who operate the snow plows are excited for the donation.

“The men and women they’re going to a call and a truck shuts down. It’s already a stressful job,” McClory said at the news conference. “They’re pumped up that we’re going to get them some new vehicles, and that way they’re good. They can do their job.”

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu