DUNMORE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It was a tough commute for a lot of people Tuesday morning and PennDOT crews put in long hours to make sure roads were open and safe.
PennDOT employees had a very early start to their Tuesday.
“I was in since midnight,” Summer Lentini with PennDOT said
And a busy start for that matter.
“We have 36 cameras here behind us that we can actually look at the traffic conditions and the road conditions,” PennDOT spokesman James May said.
Inside the incident command center and out on the roads.
“This winter so far, we’ve put down about 20,000 tons of salt and anti-skid,” May said.
Aside from putting their plows to work, PennDOT also put restrictions in place for travelers Tuesday morning.
“Throughout the morning, we had a 45 MPH restriction in places for many of the interstates in this area. When we have that, we also implement a right-lane-only for tractor-trailer and commercial vehicles,” May said.
Mays says that with icy storms like this one, the biggest challenge is getting people to recognize the real danger out on the roads.
“Because people look out their window and they don’t see the snowflakes coming down, so they assume they roads must be good,” May said.
Another challenge? Getting people to obey the safety measures put in place.
“We’re constantly listening to our truck drivers and they’re constantly complaining about people speeding around them as they try to treat the roads,” Lentini said.
Because in the end, the goal for everyone during these winter storms is to get home safely.
“There’s no reason you need to be flying down the interstate, especially with this type of freezing rain,” Lentini said.
Remember, you can always go to PAHomePage.com and check out the latest forecasts, road conditions, and school closings. You can also check out our winter weather handbook for more tips and tricks on dealing with winter storms.
