Pittsburgh Weather: Crews Busy Throughout Area To Keep Roads Clear During Snowfall
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Crews were busy throughout the area Sunday to keep roads clear as snow swept through the region.
In Washington County, road crews were busy when the snow started to fall.
Sixty PennDOT trucks were out making the rounds, getting a head start on icing issues along 2,000 square miles of Washington County roads.
"Our priorities will always be the interstates first, then our main routes like 19, 837, then we'll start moving back to our rural roads," Brian Malik, with PennDOT, said.
If the roads freeze after the storm, Malik says they'll use an anti-skid material mixed with salt.
As the storm moved into Washington County, a last-minute run on salt supplies emptied the shelves at Keystone Hardware in Canonsburg.
"We sold out. I guess we were kind of happy about it last week, but now I guess we're in a pickle," employee Jason Assad said.
PennDOT planned to focus on school bus routes, making sure those roads are safe for ids to get to school Monday morning.
Watch Bob Allen's report --
Snow tapered off but it didn't seem to make the roads any less slippery. No dry snow was falling, just an icy wet slippery mess and not a fun time to be out driving around Sunday.
Police were dispatched to accidents all over the area.
Road crews continually came back for more salt at salt piles to keep up with icy road conditions.
Police, fire and EMS crews were kept busy by the slippery conditions.
The driver in an accident on 279 North before the McKnight Road exit skidded into the median and the wall along the parkway.
A KDKA news photographer shot this picture on Route 28 South, which was shut down for a while in Sharpsburg due to extreme icy conditions and several minors wrecks.
#BREAKING: Rt 28 south closed in Sharpsburg due to extreme icy conditions and several minors wrecks. Traffic being forced off at Rt 8/Etna exit. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/HxsiUOpuUm
— Ian Smith (@ismithKDKA) March 3, 2019
City and PennDOT trucks weren't plowing but treating the icy mix and mess all night.
The City's Department of Public Works began shifts at noon Sunday and continued working throughout the day.
"We have 55 trucks out right now. We are adding to those numbers as the day goes on, as we continue to contact people and as trucks become available to us," Mike Gable, director of the Pittsburgh Public Works department, said.
Motorists out and about say the salt mix on the roads definitely helped but just on the main roadways.
"They seem to be keeping up pretty good with the salt. Just spots here and there," Gary Hudzik, of Castle Shannon, said.
"They're doing their jobs. Trucks are out there," Matthew Davis, of Beechview, told KDKA News.
"Some of the roads are a lot worse than others. I mean, I was sliding around on the highways a little bit more. Some of the main roads are OK but the back roads are trash," Darrin Carter, of Mt. Washington, said.
Bitter cold temperatures in the coming days is the concern. The city DPW says it will switch over to the blue tinted magnesium chloride mix to melt the ice on roadways.
Route 30 westbound was also shutdown for a time Sunday two miles West of Ligonier near Idlewild Park after utility piles were knocked down in a car accident and wires were pulled down across the roadway. Fortunately, no one was hurt in that accident.
PennDOT and the Turnpike commission still have reduced speeds limits in effect as well as restrictions for some commercial vehicles. Motorist everywhere are still urged to use caution.
