Storm Restrictions Extended to All Trucks on Interstate 84 in NE Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the widespread winter storm impacting Pennsylvania New York and New England, Pennsylvania will join New York in restricting all trucks from Interstate 84.

Pennsylvania's steps follow a decision by New York to ban all trucks from both Interstate 81 and 84.

Pennsylvania is leaving the Interstate 81 corridor open to trucks, but advises truckers that they should consider taking steps to find parking and delay moving to the New York border, where the ban is implemented.

The new restriction is on top of already imposed restrictions on interstates in central and eastern Pennsylvania. Speed limits are reduced to 45 mph and the affected interstates are closed to tandem trailers, empty trailers, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and towed trailers.

The storm impacting Pennsylvania and the rest of the northeast is expected to continue throughout the day Tuesday.

During a storm, PennDOT's primary goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear. Also, higher volume roads take priority.

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 770 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 website.

PennDOT reminds motorists to pack an emergency kit for their vehicles. A basic kit should include non-perishable food, water, blanket, small shovel and warm clothes. When preparing an emergency kit, motorists should take into account special needs of passengers such as baby food, pet supplies or medications and pack accordingly.

PennDOT also reminds citizens that downloadable materials, including home and car emergency kit checklists and emergency plan templates, are available at www.ReadyPA.org or by downloading the free ReadyPA app for Apple or Android devices. Citizens can also find information about getting involved in local emergency response efforts and other volunteer opportunities through the ReadyPA website.

For more winter driving tips and information on how PennDOT treats winter storms, visit www.PennDOT.gov/winter.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rich Kirkpatrick, 717-439-1787

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us