CLEARFIELD – Staff at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 2 and District 9 met with reporters in Clearfield Friday to review winter preparedness plans.
A Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC) at the PennDOT District 2 office in Clearfield will provide winter coverage services to 26 counties in the region.
Those counties include Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin and Potter in PennDOT District 2; Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union in PennDOT District 3; Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset in PennDOT District 9; and Jefferson and Clarion in PennDOT District 10.
RTMC Services include 24/7 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.
“Our RTMC’s operations are a vivid example of how PennDOT provides services and supports safety for travelers across Pennsylvania,” District 2 Maintenance Operations Manager Jason Powell said.
“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.”
For the 2021-2022 winter season, PennDOT will continue to provide roadway treatment and plowing services as weather requires. As always, PennDOT will be prepared and dedicated to keeping roads open and passable during every storm.
“Our materials across our region are currently filled and equipment is ready to go for the season ahead”, said David Kammerer, Assistant District Executive for Maintenance in District 9.
“Motorists are advised to use caution while driving during winter weather and are reminded that roads will not be free of ice and snow while precipitation is falling. Our snow plow routes on average are 40 miles in length and it can take several hours for a truck to complete that route, refill their material and repeat it”.
District 9 provided plowing and road clearing services throughout the 2020/2021 winter season, making use of 73,594 tons of salt, 85,870 tons of anti-skid, and more than 1.2 million gallons of brine across its six counties.
District 2 provided plowing and road clearing services throughout the 2020/2021 winter season, making use of 66,528 tons of salt, 84,331 tons of anti-skid, and almost 2.8 million gallons of brine across its nine counties.
PennDOT features all its winter information on its Web site at www.penndot.gov/winter,
including a Winter Services Guide with detailed information about winter services in each of PennDOT’s 11 engineering districts.
Motorists are encouraged to “Know Before They Go” by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway 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 1,000 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.
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