Governor Urges PA Residents Not To Travel In Wake Of Snowstorm

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Governor Tom Wolf, PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency are urging Pennsylvania residents not to travel Saturday so that crews can continue to clear roads.

At a conference Saturday, Governor Wolf said that he is not at the point where he is issuing a travel ban in Pennsylvania, but he is strongly urging residents to avoid driving.

"This is where self-restraint really matters. If you go out on the highway and you cause an accident, I am going to close the highways down," he said.

Travelers in more than 500 vehicles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike were stuck for hours when they were caught in the snowstorm Friday evening.

According to the release, multiple trucks and tractor trailers had trouble making it up a hill in the westbound lane of the Turnpike between Somerset and Bedford, causing traffic to back up and preventing emergency crews from reaching the disabled vehicles and clearing snow.

The Turnpike is closed between the Breezewood and New Stanton exits so that crews can work to clear the backup. Commercial vehicles are banned between New Stanton and the Delaware River Bridge, and on the Northeastern Extension between the Mid County exit and the Pocono exit.

The governor's office reports that there are more than 135 first responders on the scene, and cars are being refueled so travelers can keep their heat on. They also report that the National Guard has been deployed. At a conference Saturday afternoon, Governor Wolf said every vehicle had been checked at least once to make sure travelers had food and fuel, and emergency crews were working to get shelters in place.

Director Rick Flinn with PEMA told KDKA that crews are attempting to hook and pull the tractor trailers up the hill and get the vehicles out of the way. After the tractor trailers are out of the way, many vehicles will need to be dug out of the snow before traffic can be cleared.

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Additionally, beginning at 8 a.m., PennDOT began restricting certain vehicles from travelling across southern sections of the interstate. The restriction applies to empty straight trucks, large combination vehicles, tractors hauling empty trailers, trailers pulled by passenger vehicles, motorcycles and RVs.

Reduced speed limits of 45 mph remain in effect.

According to PEMA, the snowfall should stop in Pennsylvania by late Saturday evening.

The Pittsburgh Department of Public Works raised the storm to a Level 3 event Saturday morning, meaning parts of Pittsburgh saw between 6 and 10 inches of snow. The Level 3 status also gives crews 48 hours after snow has finished falling to clear streets.

For the safety of workers, trash collection has been canceled for Saturday. Residents can leave trash at the curb to be picked up Monday or Tuesday.

Track the progress of PennDOT's snow plows and the City of Pittsburgh's snow plows.