Posted on 02/17/2007 7:43:22 AM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
(AP) PHILADELPHIA -- Gov. Ed Rendell on Friday apologized for the state's lackluster response to a massive traffic backup on Interstate 78, saying that hundreds of motorists became stranded Wednesday and Thursday because of an "almost total breakdown in communication" among state agencies.
Calling the situation "totally unacceptable," Rendell announced an investigation into what went wrong, including why it took until 6 p.m. Thursday to close all ramps onto I-78 in eastern Pennsylvania. That was more than 24 hours after the worst of the Valentine's Day storm had passed, leaving 50 miles of jammed traffic in its wake.
"Everyone involved in the state response was a state employee and therefore I am to blame," Rendell told a news conference in Philadelphia. He tapped James Lee Witt, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to help lead the review.
The mea culpa was an abrupt reversal for Rendell, who had insisted on Thursday that state government responded properly to the storm and that "Mother Nature is the only one to blame," as spokeswoman Kate Philips put it.
The interstate was finally clear of trucks and cars Friday but the highway remained shut down indefinitely as crews struggled to remove ice and snow from the road surface.
State Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said I-78, as well as large portions of I-81 and I-80, would remain closed so crews and salt trucks could attack the icy mixture that coated the pavement and hardened as overnight temperatures plummeted. He could not say when the highways would reopen.
"The challenge now has been dealing with a number of iced-over areas. It's really a struggle to break those up," PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said Friday afternoon.
State officials have said they could not have prevented the colossal jam that stranded motorists for up to 24 hours, a potentially deadly situation made worse by frigid temperatures and fierce winds.
Several jackknifed tractor-trailers stacked up traffic, and even after they were cleared, the big rigs behind them were unable to get any traction and got stuck themselves, state police said.
PennDOT estimated that at one point there were hundreds of stuck tractor-trailers. Some trucks were stranded by road conditions, while others ran out of fuel or their fuel froze.
And, as the backlog lengthened, plows were unable to get through.
"PennDOT was overwhelmed by conditions," Catherine Rossi, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said Friday. "No one seemed to recognize the magnitude or take charge."
Her comments were echoed by state lawmakers from both parties. House Republican Leader Sam Smith called the state's response "deplorable" and announced hearings. The Senate also planned hearings and created an e-mail address, stormresponse@pasen.gov , for motorists who were stuck on I-78 to send their comments.
State Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, said PennDOT officials should be quicker to shut down interstates when the weather dictates. He called for a statewide communications system to alert commercial truckers when such a decision is made, coupled with fines or other sanctions for truckers who ignore warnings to stay off.
State Rep. Jennifer Mann, who was stuck on I-78 for more than five hours Wednesday, ticked off a list of complaints: The road surface was not plowed, it took hours for the state to respond to the backlog, and even when help arrived, passenger cars were not diverted off the highway as quickly as they might have been.
"I'm not a traffic engineer," said Mann, D-Lehigh. "My job is to hold these folks accountable and force an evaluation here, not for the purpose of placing blame but for the purpose of understanding what went wrong so something like this never happens again."
Motorists who unwittingly blundered into the jam said they didn't have any warning of the backup ahead of them. New Jersey's transportation department, on the other hand, had electronic message signs advising drivers to avoid Interstate 78 when they crossed into Pennsylvania.
The communications breakdown extended all the way to the governor's office. Rendell said he didn't learn of the situation until 8 p.m. Wednesday, about seven hours after traffic began stacking up.
"I haven't gotten an acceptable answer and that ticks the heck out of me," Rendell said.
Not everyone found fault with PennDOT.
"There was such a high volume of traffic, and between the snow and the ice, I'm not sure anybody could have done anything better," said James Runk, president and chief executive of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.
Another weather-related accident closed both directions of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Lancaster for several hours Friday. Ice from a westbound tractor-trailer apparently flew into the windshield of an eastbound tanker truck, which overturned, injuring the driver, said turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo.
The tanker was carrying 1,800 gallons of xylene, a highly flammable chemical that is used in the manufacturing of paints, rubber, adhesives and plastics, DeFebo said.
People bitch and moan incessantly about "big" government, and then bitch and moan incessantly when the government isn't "big" enough. Go figure.
PennDot exists for the sole purpose of being a laundromat for washing the tax dollars that get dumped into the unions.
I've been on that stretch of Highway, too. Never got stuck there, but once as a kid we were stuck in our car in a blizzard in central Indiana. We were coming back to WI after a family trip to FL.
Not fun. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. ;)
I used to drive truck over the road (all 48 states and Canada). PA used to do a pretty good job of keeping their roads clear and salted during the winter... Of course, it's been years since I've been back east.
I connected the dots and my taxes in Pennsylvania are too high for every major road to not be heated and provide dancing girls to clean my windshield and check my oil every ten miles.
Re: Post 23. Makes a lot of sense. I have lived in Allentown for 25 years and NEVER recall I-78 being closed for any length of time. I-81 and I-80 - yes.
I have wondered how in the world could there have been a pile up on 78 all the way from Harrisburg to Allentown. Once it was known that the road was impassable, how long does it take to shut down all the entrance ramps? I would think 1-2 hours - tops. Then the process could begin of turning cars around and getting them off the highway. How many thousands of cars would there be in a 50 mile two lane pile up? All those thousands of cars were permitted to get on I-78 in the stretch between Harrisburg and Allentown.
That is amazing to me it would have gotten to that point.
There is sheer stupidity on the part of thousands of people to drive out in a snow and ice storm they were severely warned about. But beyond that, who was asleep at the switch in getting I-78 access restricted?
what did the Amish do?
The storm was over about 11 AM or so. The pileup grew all the way into Thursday evening before all on-ramps are closed. I don't think you can blame motorists for thinking the road would be cleared 24 hours after the storm is over if the state hasn't announced otherwise - normally during bad storms, we get announcements that driving is either discouraged or prohibited, depending upon severity of conditions.
It doesn't take bad weather for PennDot and the State Police to get stupid. They do it just as well on a bright sunny day.
What did the Amish do? Put snow shoes on their horses.
I am curious. Are people, upon encountering snow and ice on the roadway, supposed to stop their cars, pull out shovels and bags of salt, and start clearing it?
Or should we wait until next Tuesday's warmup for the ice to start melting so we can drive again?
It's not that this represents a desire for big government. Instead, it is a criticism that government anymore does too much stuff of what it shouldn't be doing and not enough of what it should be doing.
Baaa-aaa-aad.
Fast Eddie should resign, don't you think? 'Bout time for the NY Slimes to call for his resignation....no wait, that is reserved for 'Pubbies only.....
Not to mention Hershey.
I would like Ed Rendell to replace Schwartzie as the governor of CA. There are 10 lane freeways here that are stopped when just a few drops of rain come down. Trucks seem to land on their side on the 405 between Santa Clarita and Van Nuys. The best accident I know of is when a truckful of live chichens overturned. Hundreds of them ran around and stopped traffic for miles.
Dan Cuellar of WACK-tion News 6 in Phila called this "Pennsylvania's Katrina"! That makes Fast Eddie Blanco!
It would seem the easy solution is inexpensive gates that swing shut on the interstate entrances in hilly areas. If prevailing conditions get bad, the gates could simply be closed so that there are less vehicles contributing to the overall problem at hand. One would think people could use common sense...but common sense ain't so common these days.
~ Blue Jays ~
I was on TDY to Washington DC Mon - Wed and spent the night in Tysons Corners. I decided I wanted to come home on Wed or keep waiting for the ice and freezing rain. I kept my speed to 50 -60. VA roads were plowed okay, and so was 15 thru Maryland. But as soon as I crossed over to PA, 15 was not plowed as well as 15 in Maryland was plowed.
My sentiments exactly. I couldn't believe they were airdropping supplies in Colorado via helicopter a month or so ago because of...
wait for it...
a snow storm. Imagine, people in Colorado not prepared for a snow storm. Sheeple
I live north of Baltimore and drove to York, PA on Friday to pick up my college son and bring him home.
My neighborhood roads are plowed better than the main drag in York. There's packed ice on I-83 just south of York, for heaven's sake!
I was very happy to cross the state line back to Maryland.
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