PennDOT Urges Drivers to Avoid Unnecessary Travel During Winter Storm

PennDOT Urges Drivers to Avoid Unnecessary Travel During Winter Storm

3/13/2017-KING OF PRUSSIA

With a powerful winter storm predicted to hit southeastern Pennsylvania
tonight
into Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) urges

motorists to avoid unnecessary travel and to use extra caution if they need
to
drive because snow accumulations could reach one to two feet in places.

"With snow expected to fall at a rate of two-to-four inches an hour for
several
hours, motorists can expect to face snow covered roads," said PennDOT
District
Executive Kenneth M. McClain. "If drivers must travel, they must be
prepared to
encounter slower travel speeds and delays due to difficult driving
conditions
and poor visibility," McClain added.

Due to the severity of this winter storm, PennDOT will temporarily reduce
the
speed limit on several expressways in the region beginning at 10:00 PM
tonight.

PennDOT is urging motorists to avoid unnecessary travel but those who must
head
out will see speeds reduced to 45 mph on the following highways:

• Interstates 76, 95, 476, 676;
• U.S. Routes 1, 30, 202, 422; and
• State Routes 63, 100 Spur and 309.

In addition, there will be a temporary ban on tandem truck trailers, empty
trailers, towed trailers, buses, recreational vehicles and motorcycles.

Although PennDOT crews will be treating roadways, the department's primary
goal
is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT
will
continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops
and
roads are clear.

PennDOT will deploy over 400 state and contractor trucks to plow state
highways
in the five-county Philadelphia region.

When traveling during a winter storm, motorists need to slow down, increase

their following distance and avoid distractions. Drivers also need to be
extra
cautious around operating snow-removal equipment. PennDOT advises
motorists to
stay at least six car lengths behind snow plows when they are operating and

they should never try to pass a plow truck.

PennDOT recommends that motorists carry an emergency kit including items
such
as non-perishable food, water, first-aid supplies, warm clothes, a blanket,

cell phone charger and a small snow shovel. Additionally, motorists should
tailor their kits to any specific needs that they or their families have.

PennDOT has more than 100,000 tons of salt stockpiled throughout the
five-county Philadelphia region. Crews will spread salt at the onset of the

storm to keep the pavement wet and help with initial melting. Additional
salt
will be spread as required during the storm.

In southeastern Pennsylvania, PennDOT maintains 3,557 linear miles and
11,106
snow-lane miles of state highway. A snow-lane is the distance of a road
multiplied by the number of travel lanes.

Assisting PennDOT in the region are 95 municipalities that entered into
winter
maintenance agreements, whereby local crews salt and plow specified state
roads
in each municipality. These municipal crews service 2,985 snow lane miles
of
state highway in the region.

For more winter driving tips and information on how PennDOT treats winter
storms, visit www.PennDOT.gov/winter.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by
visiting
www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides

traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and
access
to more than 770 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and
Android
devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts
accessible
on the 511PA website.

For more PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT
Information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the
department on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at
www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot.

To view a complete list of District 6 News Releases: Click
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