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.
If he had a shred of honor he would. Of course that means, we're stuck with him.
Wow. Sounds horrible. So what's the take home message? To me, it's that government generally makes things worse rather than better, especially in "unusual" conditions. Thing is that "unusual" conditions are pretty common.
In recognition that your story is worse than mine, I'd like to add my own recent tale of police interference with travel. Just a month ago, I drove from Orange County, CA to Big Bear, CA. I drove there on a cold day, in the early morning. No police in sight. There was snow and ice on the road, but only a little, so I went uphill to Big Bear with no problems.
That afternoon, I drove back down. By that time, the ice and snow on the road had melted. The road was completely clear, and remarkable for minimal traffic going uphill. What sparse traffic there was was generally going slow, with chains on the tires, clunking over the bare asphalt.
Got down to the bottom of the hill, and saw the reason for the light traffic and chains. There were a couple of cops at the bottom, stopping people from going up the hill without chains in place. Had traffic backed up for miles. Again, this was well after the snow and ice had melted, and well after there was any even marginal need for chains.
Bottom line? Police harassed people, slowed travel on the roads the taxpayers had already paid for, increased damage to those roads, and all for nothing. Well, nothing but probable overtime payments to those police that were doing all this.
What happened to the guy who was buying the wine. He seemed to know what he was doing. Fat Eddie replaced him with a politician.
"I haven't gotten an acceptable answer and that ticks the heck out of me," Rendell said.
Acceptable answer? You're in charge Ed. Put on your overcoat and get out there with your snow shovel.
From reading news reports, you would think that I-78 was the only road affected. These Philly reporters need to realize that there was just as much, if not more of an impact on I-80 and I-81 being closed.
I live 4 miles from the one exit that was closed (Berwick/Lime Ridge), and with the closure, Route 11 effectively became Interstate 80 for the past several days. It paralyzed the town, as it was bumper to bumper traffic at a snail's pace for MILES. I've seen storms that were worse, and yet we never had problems like this.
The real problem was that PennDOT was not out in force PRIOR to the storm (like they USED to be) laying down chemicals, and the number of snow plows DURING the storm was noticeably less. Yes, the sleet was bad, and some people are idiots, but lack of preparation was what caused most of this mess...
They stayed home.
During the storm I witnessed snowplows driving down the street with their blades raised and not spreading salt/sand to wherever it was they were driving. Where is the efficiency in that? Regardless of where the plow was needed, it should be driving with the blade lowered to the pavement at all times. My only guess is that it was raised to save fuel. Heck, don't worry about saving a few ounces of diesel at that point...every snowplow on the road has to be contributing.
~ Blue Jays ~
I know,I live just north of Millvile but I travel to Scranton must every day.
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