PennDOT Says Crews Ready For Snow On Biggest Travel Day Of The Year
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- PennDOT has had crews out since midnight, just in case, and they have plans to be out through tomorrow.
Les Toaso, PennDOT's district executive for Southeastern Pennsylvania, says the department put three-quarters of its trucks on the road to make sure they stay ice-free through this travel period.
"We'll have a total of 332 trucks on the state routes, which translates into about 11,000 snow lane miles we'll be taking care of," he says.
Still, he's urging drivers to factor in the weather. "We're asking them look at their plans and maybe they can re-arrange their plans, delay till after this event is over. If they do have to go out be very careful," Toaso says.
One of the big precautions he wants to emphasize is to stay 6 car lengths behind salt trucks. He says operators are watching the gauges on their dashboards to control salt flow, plus watching the road and looking out for hazards -- so drivers should make sure to give them some extra room.
Toaso says PennDOT got some help from mother nature. The milder temperatures earlier this week means roads are warmer than normal, meaning less and slower freezing -- but the department of transportation is ready for snow with 100,000 tons of salt on hand.