CLEARFIELD ? Staff at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 2 headquarters in Clearfield met Wednesday with external partners to review winter preparedness plans.
The meeting was attended by PennDOT maintenance staff from the nine-county District 2 region, Montoursville-based District 3, and Hollidaysburg-based District 9, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania State Police, 911 managers from across the region, local Emergency Management Agency directors and a variety of emergency responders.
The meeting included review and discussion of protocol during weather-related incidents and crashes, along with communications between agencies and partners inside and outside of PennDOT.
A Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC) at the PennDOT District 2 office in Clearfield will again provide winter coverage services to the nine counties in District 2 (Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter), the nine counties of District 3 (Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union) and the six counties in District 9 (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset).
Those services include 24/7 year-round monitoring and posting of road and bridge restrictions/closures, managing weather-related incidents, and oversight of Intelligent Transportation Systems, which include traffic cameras, message boards and Highway Advisory Radio.
?In winter, the tools used through the RTMC allow staff to monitor weather events and traffic-related incidents and plan for what?s needed in regard to material and personnel, and make decisions about speed reductions and road closures,? District 2 Assistant District Executive for Maintenance Dave Matheson said.
?The RTMC?s operations are another example of how we?re providing services and supporting safety for all Pennsylvania travelers.?
District 2 provided plowing and road clearing services throughout the 2016-17 winter season, making use of 76,743 tons of salt, 103,149 tons of anti-skid and more than 1.2 million gallons of brine across its nine counties.
The district currently has 41,927 tons of salt and 112,138 tons of anti-skid on hand.
PennDOT features all its winter information on its Web site at www.penndot.gov/winter, including a Winter Service Guide with detailed information about winter services in each of PennDOT?s 11 engineering districts.
Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com.
511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 850 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA Web site.
Follow PennDOT regionally on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/511PAAltoona and www.twitter.com/511PAStateColl.
