Unexpected Snowfall Overwhelms Regional Transportation Agencies
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - PennDOT had a plan in place for the snow that was forecast for Sunday, but it couldn't keep up with the snow that actually fell, forcing crews to play catch-up much of the day.
Frank Bruno was stuck on the road in Chadds Ford for more than two hours, as the snow fell faster and thicker than any forecast. And, he says, he wasn't alone:
"There's a lot of people that are really stranded, a lot of people that got out of church, they're all stranded in traffic and we're talking elderly people young people. It's a mess."
Bruno was asking the same question many others were:
"What I don't understand is there's not a single salt truck anywhere?"
PennDOT spokesman Charles Metzger says there's a reason for that:
"Our trucks are susceptible to traffic. We're in it just like they are."
Metzger says PennDOT called in 115 extra trucks when its first 300 were overwhelmed, but it's hard to be nimble in a snowstorm.
Crews were assigned to stay on the road till conditions improved. Rising temperatures helped a slow return to normal.
