HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Hundreds of PennDOT crews worked to keep central Pensylvania’s roads safe Saturday. Snow and sleet persisted for hours.
“On the interstate, we’re using a mix of about 75% salt and 25% anti-skid, and on your secondary routes, we’re using a mix of 50/50,” said Jaime Santiago, a highway maintenance assistant manager at PennDOT.
PennDOT was fully staffed in Dauphin County. About 45 trucks were out treating roads.
“We didn’t have a lot of snow events this year so we have a lot of material in stock,” said Santiago.
Most major interstates had reduced speed limits of 45 miles per hour from the afternoon until the evening.
Highways, ramps, bridges, back roads and mountain roads got pre-treated Friday.
But, several cars still skidded off roadways.
Most who ventured out in downtown Harrisburg did it for food and drinks.
“Day drinking at Aroogas,” said Sharon Franz of Harrisburg.
“And getting ready to go to the other Aroogas later to see some MMA action,” added Stephen Yakaitis, who is visiting Harrisburg.
“It’s actually busier than I thought it would be for the roads and for the weather to be the way it is,” said William Snyder of Harrisburg.
“The city did a good job preparing for it,” said Tony Beans, who also lives in Harrisburg.
The freezing temperatures shocked some since it was in the 60s just days ago.
“Last week, it kind of confused us,” said Tony Beans of Harrisburg. “We thought it was springtime. I like mother nature getting us back to winter. I love it. I love the wintertime.”
“I think it’s alright for a day just because we haven’t had a lot of snow,” said Kaye Gee, who lives in Harrisburg. “It’s alright. I just hope it doesn’t last.”
“There’s nothing like a little bit of a blanket of fresh now to clean things up,” said Yakaitis. “It seems cleaner than rain.”
No matter how you feel about the weather, safety officials are reminding drivers to slow down.
“Give our trucks some space,” said Santiago.
Some of the speed restrictions have been lifted. 511 PA has real-time updates.
