Drivers stranded on highway...

[Insein]

Well it affected my vacation this weekend. The turnpike was backed up for miles because of these 3 other roads being closed. So I can't leave till tommorrow.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070216/D8NARTE80.html


6 Inches of Ice Close Pa. Highways


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Feb 16, 9:24 AM (ET)

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

HAMBURG, Pa. (AP) - A thick layer of ice kept major highways closed Friday morning, a day after hundreds of drivers became stranded on a hilly stretch of eastern Pennsylvania that had been hit by a monster storm.

National Guard troops used Humvees to ferry in food, fuel and baby supplies on Thursday to the lines of motorists caught in a 50-mile traffic jam on Interstate 78. Friday morning, the troops were busy towing away the remaining vehicles while road crews struggled to melt ice that had built up four to six inches in places.

Some drivers were angry that they had been let on the road at all. State police didn't close all the entrance ramps to I-78 until around 5 p.m. Thursday, more than 24 hours after cars and trucks started getting caught. They also closed sections of I-81 and I-80, to help keep the area clear.

"Why would they have that exit open if they were just going to let us sit there?" said a crying Deborah Miller. Her 5-year-old son was trapped in the car with her, running a 103-degree fever from strep throat.


(AP) Motorists wait for roads to be cleared along Interstate 78, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, in...
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Eugene Coleman of Hartford, Conn., who is hyperglycemic, said he was trapped for 20 hours along with his girlfriend and pregnant daughter. They had no food or water for about 18 hours and Coleman said his legs were swollen.

"God forbid somebody gets really stuck on the highway and has a life-threatening emergency. That person would have died," Coleman said.

State Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said Friday morning that the highways would stay closed indefinitely so crews and chemicals could do their work.

"In many areas, we're finding sections of ice covering the highway that measure four to six inches. This simply poses too great a risk to motorists," Biehler said in a news release. "Additionally, this extra time allows the chemicals we applied overnight to work, as they heat with the rising daytime temperatures."

The sprawling storm system hit Wednesday and blew out to sea Thursday, leaving huge snow piles, frigid temperatures and tens of thousands without power across the Midwest and Northeast. It was blamed for at least 15 deaths.


(AP) Motorists wait for roads to be cleared along Interstate 78 Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, in Strausstown,...
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In Maryland, BGE utility officials said it could be late Friday before power is restored to everyone. The worst outages were in Anne Arundel County, with 22,000 without power, and in Prince George County, where 7,700 were without power.

More than 137,000 customers had lost power at the height of the storm.

Numerous areas saw more than a foot of snow, with 42 inches falling in the southern Adirondacks in New York. Gusty wind had morning wind chills below zero, and in some areas, the snow was followed by several inches of ice.

A few flights were canceled Thursday after numerous cancelations Wednesday that had stranded some passengers for hours on runways. Many school districts that had canceled classes Wednesday extended the unplanned vacation by an extra day.

"This storm was rare because of the unusual amount of snow and ice," Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said. "This series of accidents that blocked our way made it really, really difficult."

Eugene Coleman, who is hyperglycemic, was trapped for 20 hours while on his way home to Hartford, Conn., from visiting his terminally ill mother in Georgia, along with his girlfriend and pregnant daughter.

"How could you operate a state like this? It's totally disgusting," Coleman said.

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One thing i will give Eddie is that he owned up to the mistake. He didnt pass the buck like the LA Governor and NO mayor did during Katrina. He admitted that he is at fault for not having the systems running properly for such a crisis. Still someone's head needs to roll for this.

[Dilloduck]

Well it affected my vacation this weekend. The turnpike was backed up for miles because of these 3 other roads being closed. So I can't leave till tommorrow.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070216/D8NARTE80.html



One thing i will give Eddie is that he owned up to the mistake. He didnt pass the buck like the LA Governor and NO mayor did during Katrina. He admitted that he is at fault for not having the systems running properly for such a crisis. Still someone's head needs to roll for this.

How do you think the highway dept should have handled te situation?

[krisy]

It sounds to me like they should have closed the highway a lot earlier than they did. Everyone knew the storm was coming.

This storm hit us here in Cincinnati and we are still dealing with falling tree branches and power lines from all the ice. At one point there were about 100,000 with no power for 2 -3 days. What a mess!!!! I believe gaffer was one of those with no power!!! :eek:

[Dilloduck]

It sounds to me like they should have closed the highway a lot earlier than they did. Everyone knew the storm was coming.

This storm hit us here in Cincinnati and we are still dealing with falling tree branches and power lines from all the ice. At one point there were about 100,000 with no power for 2 -3 days. What a mess!!!! I believe gaffer was one of those with no power!!! :eek:

If everyone knew an ice storm was coming what in the hell we they doing out here driving in it ?

[krisy]

If everyone knew an ice storm was coming what in the hell we they doing out here driving in it ?



LOL!! You have a point there,dillo! I stayed home for 2 days.

[Abbey Marie]

There was a Philly newscast the other day, interviewing people on the street complaining that they had to walk through slush to get to work. Complaining that the city should have cleaned it all up. Can you believe that?! The poor dears had to actually walk through slush. Oh the horror!

When I lived in cities I- now get this- bought boots (!) for the purpose of walking through slush and snow and rain. Now I guess we just wear our designer heels and expect "the government" to present a perfectly dry sidewalk to us every day.

We have become a society that looks to the government as a wet nurse, fulfilling our every need. This can't be good. That teat full of milk is going to run dry one of these days, and our weak characters will do us all in.

[Dilloduck]

There was a Philly newscast the other day, interviewing people on the street complaining that they had to walk through slush to get to work. Complaining that the city should have cleaned it all up. Can you believe that?! The poor dears had to actually walk through slush. Oh the horror!

When I lived in cities I- now get this- bought boots (!) for the purpose of walking through slush and snow and rain. Now I guess we just wear our designer heels and expect "the government" to present a perfectly dry sidewalk to us every day.

We have become a society that looks to the government as a wet nurse, fulfilling our every need. This can't be good. That teat full of milk is going to run dry one of these days, and our weak characters will do us all in.

:2up:

[Gunny]

There was a Philly newscast the other day, interviewing people on the street complaining that they had to walk through slush to get to work. Complaining that the city should have cleaned it all up. Can you believe that?! The poor dears had to actually walk through slush. Oh the horror!

When I lived in cities I- now get this- bought boots (!) for the purpose of walking through slush and snow and rain. Now I guess we just wear our designer heels and expect "the government" to present a perfectly dry sidewalk to us every day.

We have become a society that looks to the government as a wet nurse, fulfilling our every need. This can't be good. That teat full of milk is going to run dry one of these days, and our weak characters will do us all in.

They should try living here. About an eighth-inch of ice shut this city down for two days last month.

[Gaffer]

Yeppers I was one of the 100,000 without power here for two days. We had ice four inches thick around the house. Plus snow on top of it. It was predicted well before the storm arrived so people had time to get ready. The county was put on a level 3 snow emergency. which means no one on the road except for emergencies. The power company brought in crews from as far away as the carolinas to help fix the downed lines. Made for a couple of boring days but nothing that couldn't be handled.

Most people in this country are too soft and expect too much. A major catastrophy would be more costly in lives here just because the people could not handle the hardships. Give me a little warning on something and I will get through it. Surprise me and I will make do with what I have.

[avatar4321]

There was a Philly newscast the other day, interviewing people on the street complaining that they had to walk through slush to get to work. Complaining that the city should have cleaned it all up. Can you believe that?! The poor dears had to actually walk through slush. Oh the horror!

When I lived in cities I- now get this- bought boots (!) for the purpose of walking through slush and snow and rain. Now I guess we just wear our designer heels and expect "the government" to present a perfectly dry sidewalk to us every day.

We have become a society that looks to the government as a wet nurse, fulfilling our every need. This can't be good. That teat full of milk is going to run dry one of these days, and our weak characters will do us all in.

Well you have to realize that 80% of Philadelphia are Democrats. And while there may be a few successful ones, the Democrat idealogy is basically along the lines of Homer Simpson's political campaign: "Can't someone else do it?"

The fact is too many people expect others to do all the work. They dont want to do it themselves. This is hardly a Democrat problem alont but the political idealogy centers around government taking the responsibility away from the people.

Ironically its that abdication of responsibility that takes away their freedom.

[Insein]

How do you think the highway dept should have handled te situation?

Ever been stuck on a highway? Theres no where to go. Plus if you look at those that were stuck, you see that more than half the vehicles were tractor trailers. Guys that have to drive to get paid. What should have been done within a few hours was to reroute all the cars that could have been onto different roads and to close all on ramps filling into i-78. Instead people were allowed to still enter I-78 up to 8 and 9 hrs after the intial traffic began. This isnt a case of people being stupid and driving in the snow. This is a case of severe mismanagement of snowstorm on interstate highways.

[Abbey Marie]

Well you have to realize that 80% of Philadelphia are Democrats. And while there may be a few successful ones, the Democrat idealogy is basically along the lines of Homer Simpson's political campaign: "Can't someone else do it?"

The fact is too many people expect others to do all the work. They dont want to do it themselves. This is hardly a Democrat problem alont but the political idealogy centers around government taking the responsibility away from the people.

Ironically its that abdication of responsibility that takes away their freedom.

Oh, I realize it alright! I lived in Philly for many years. My husband works there, and I still have family living there. It's rock solid Dem.

I remember voting there at a suburban home turned into a polling place, and right outside the door was a huge "official" poster showing you a diagram of the voting machine, so you would know how to vote. It was complete with the little voting levers, and every single one was flipped to a name to show how to cast a vote... for the Dem candidate.

[avatar4321]

Oh, I realize it alright! I lived in Philly for many years. My husband works there, and I still have family living there. It's rock solid Dem.

I remember voting there at a suburban home turned into a polling place, and right outside the door was a huge "official" poster showing you a diagram of the voting machine, so you would know how to vote. It was complete with the little voting levers, and every single one was flipped to a name to show how to cast a vote... for the Dem candidate.

I know its rather ridiculous. That city is incredibly corrupt. I hate going into town because of everything.

[Abbey Marie]

I know its rather ridiculous. That city is incredibly corrupt. I hate going into town because of everything.

Living outside of Philly, we hate paying the city wage tax. I think it's around 5%? I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't so corrupt and mismanaged.