Snow-clearing and vegetation maintenance on Hesse's roads and motorways are carried out by another 15 Unimog implement carriers.
Hessen Mobil, the traffic and road management authority of the German state of Hesse, recently began using another 15 Mercedes-Benz Unimogs to maintain its roads and motorways. Twelve new Unimog U 527s and three new Unimog U 423s have now been added to the fleet of around 500 vehicles in order to guarantee an optimal flow of traffic in both summer and winter. The new special-purpose vehicles for road maintenance were handed over by Minufa, the general agency for Unimog, to 15 Hessian road and motorway maintenance depots.
Year-round road maintenance service.
The new Unimog implement carriers are equipped for vegetation maintenance and snow-clearing: whether it's snow-clearing, spreading gritting salt to combat ice or maintaining the roadside vegetation – the task here is to mow, cut and chop grass, plants, bushes and trees on either side of the crash barriers as well as around the reflector posts.
The area of application for the Unimogs is complex, because there are different tasks in changing situations. With its numerous professional attachments, however, the Unimog is capable of performing the work efficiently. In Hesse, all the delivered Unimogs are equipped with a Mulag combination mower. In addition, these commercial vehicles feature roof lamp carriers, high-intensity warning lights and selectable Rud automatic snow chains.
Safe and comfortable in operation.
The reason for the great global success of the professional implement carrier lies in its innovative vehicle technology, which makes both driving and the operation of attachments reliable and economical. Mercedes-Benz has for decades closely cooperated with international manufacturers of implements and attachments. This creates the ideal basis for professional commercial vehicles, such as for snow-clearing and vegetation maintenance.
The Unimog implement carrier offers drivers a host of worthwhile working aids for their often difficult assignments by day and night – in summer and winter. For example, the patented "VarioPilot" dual-mode steering, which makes it possible to control slow vehicle operation from the co-driver's seat while continuing to monitor the work of the implements. To do this, the steering wheel and pedals are shifted to the right from the driver's seat, this being especially ergonomic for road maintenance. In addition, the state-of-the-art clear-vision cab offers an excellent view to the front of the vehicle and of the working area thanks to the deeply downward-extending windscreen and a steeply raked front bonnet. Deep side windows and a large window in the rear wall also allow excellent all-round visibility while minimising the blind spots.
The delivered Unimog U 423s are powered by a four-cylinder engine rated at 170 kW (231 hp). The new Unimog U 527s in Hesse have six-cylinder engines that deliver 200 kW (272 hp).
The BlueEfficiency Power engines comply with the European Euro VI emissions standard and are fuel-efficient in operation.
Power take-off shafts at front and rear as well as VarioPower power hydraulics allow an extremely wide range of implements and attachments to be operated and controlled from a removable multifunction joystick. The power hydraulics are housed in the platform subframe and can be demounted in order, for example, to further increase the payload for gritting salt in winter.
Hessen Mobil and Unimog make sure the roads are clear.
Around 17,000 km of roads are maintained by the 1450 employees of the higher administrative authority Hessen Mobil. With 60 road and motorway maintenance depots and a total of around 500 commercial vehicles, Hesse's traffic and road management authority makes sure the roads are clear in both summer and winter.
Apart from road maintenance, the work also includes traffic planning and road construction. Set up in 1954 as the "Hessian Regional Authority for Road Construction", Hessen Mobil reports to Hesse's Ministry for Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development.
More information on Unimog in municipal service.
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