Westbound Turnpike Reopens Sunday Evening

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike have been reopened, as of 5 p.m. Sunday. Previously, the westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike were closed between Bedford (Exit #146) and Somerset (Exit #110).

Around 3 p.m. Sunday, officials said that all vehicles and travelers who had been stuck on a stretch of the westbound lanes were safely removed. Eastbound lanes were completely reopened to traffic.

The ban on commercial trucks and the 45 mile per hour speed limit has been lifted.

Governor Tom Wolf and other Pennsylvania officials provided updates on the status of Pennsylvania roads on Sunday afternoon after a "historic" snowstorm that left travelers stranded and closed the westbound lanes of the turnpike.

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

Mark Compton, the CEO of the Turnpike Commission, said an extensive review would be conducted in the aftermath of the storm to determine what could have been done to prevent this incident.