Watch CBS News

Road Crews Worry About Possible Re-Freeze Overnight

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Day after day it seems like Mother Nature has been laying down challenges, and Thursday morning was one of the worst. Now crews are worried about a possible re-freeze overnight into Friday.

On Thursday, residents in some city neighborhoods were still waiting for the streets to be plowed. That was the case on Maple Terrace on Mount Washington.

While, a plow did finally make it out there Thursday evening, the damage had already been done.

KDKA's Kym Gable Reports:

People who live there said the road was barely passable for much of the day. Children spent the day sledding on the street.

Eric Wade drove there Thursday to see a friend.

"I try to come up here and I'm sliding all over the place," said Wade. "It's just absurd they let it get this bad and not do anything."

Krista Maglitotti lives on Maple Terrace.

"I was driving home around 7:30 whenever the roads were icing over and I drifted backwards and hit two cars and my car has been out of commission since then," she said.

Rob Elicker says he has also seen several accidents there.

"I actually watched someone wreck into my neighbor's car, sliding backward down the street," he said.

PennDOT's Allegheny County Manager, Angelo Pampena, told KDKA the department is concerned about the possible icing and refreezing of moisture that's already on the road.

While the city will treat its salt with calcium to make it more effective in the cold, PennDOT's only solution is to further tax its dwindling salt supply.

KDKA's John Shumway Reports:

"As the temperature keeps dropping we have to use more salt to keep the roads safe. We have enough to get back for the next storm or two, but we're running low," said Pampena.

"Putting our tractors out, park crews that normally do sidewalks - put those over on the street side, so we put about a hundred vehicles out," Pittsburgh Public Works Director Mike Gable said.

During the Thursday morning rush, the Parkway West was up to its usual tricks as people took extra time and extra precautions to get to work. But, it wasn't just those areas. People coming to the city from Lawrence County said it took them a long time to get to school.

"We wanted to kiss the ground. We are happy we are here so we are rewarding ourselves with some breakfast," Cassie Dettore, of New Castle, said.

Their one-hour drive took more than two today. While they missed their 8 a.m. class, breakfast probably made them feel better.

Still traffic had a lot of people squeezing the steering wheel a little tighter.

"It's a little bit better, but there is still a fair amount of slush and even the ramps going off on Babcock were completely covered, so it was pretty bad," Matt Bowling said.

KDKA's Rick Dayton Reports:

It might have been worse for those who wanted to take public transportation.

"There's usually buses coming every 10, 15 minutes. So, for us to be waiting this long, this is definitely not usual. Even the express was late, the 7:30 came at 8:30," one woman said.

Lengthy delays were commonplace.

And the buses that were running were so crowded there was no guarantee you could get on.

"I have the app that shows the buses running and the other one is way up in Carrick right now, so we will be here for a while," one man said.

But, with a healthy dose of patience, most Pittsburghers figured out how to make the best of a bad situation.

"I would hope so. This is Pittsburgh. You are supposed to be able to drive in the snow," Coleen Cutchember said.

Even if you do know how to drive in the snow, tomorrow is going to be another interesting drive because the overnight temperatures are supposed to drop down to zero.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.