PennDOT and AAA team up to offer advice on holiday travel plans
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - PennDOT officials are gearing up for the first major storm of the season. They are confident they'll be able to get you where you're going safely.
AAA estimates some 113 million Americans will travel this holiday, reaching near pre-pandemic numbers.
However, severe weather headed our way threatens holiday travel. Starting at 12 a.m., PennDOT will employ all crews and will send out additional contractors as needed.
Routes take between two to three hours to maintain and officials say crews will continue to run those routes until the roads are clear.
Crews will not pre-treat the roadways for this storm due to the rain coming in ahead of the forecasted snowfall.
"At this point, we are getting our trucks together. We're preparing our materials and we're in a good position and we're ready to go for this," said Yasmeen Manyisha of PennDOT.
PennDOT officials urge folks to say home, but if you can't, they remind drivers to slow down on the roadways and take your time, especially with wind gusts expected to be 50mph.
Most importantly, pay attention to the weather forecast, so you can plan accordingly.
If you're planning on going out on the road at any point in the next 48 hours, you might want to plan ahead and pack needed supplies in your car.
According to AAA, you'll want to pack items like jumper cables, a shovel or an ice scraper in case you get stranded at any point. If you're stuck outside for an extended period, include extra coats, blankets, hats and even hand warmers to protect yourself from the cold.
You'll also want to include other basic necessities, such as a first-aid kit and a phone charger.
If you'd like to keep track of where the plow trucks are when they hit the roads overnight, just check out 511pa.com.
All of PennDOT's roughly 2,200 plow trucks are equipped with automated vehicle location systems, which use in-truck technology to log and share data in real-time to that website.
You can not only see where the trucks are, but also how much material they're spreading on the roads.
The city of Pittsburgh has a similar online plow tracking system, but according to the city's website, it's currently not working.