Heavy snowfall had led to difficulties in keeping roads and airports open

Heavy snowfall on Friday and occasionally over the weekend made it difficult for emergency services to clear the streets.

But roads in Erie County were generally open Monday, although treacherous conditions and some travel restrictions remain in place.

Erie International Airport is also open, although airlines have canceled weekend flights.

Fighting deep, heavy snow on the roads

“The biggest issue was not the amount of snow, but the type of snow,” Millcreek Township Supervisor Kim Clear said. “It is heavy and very difficult for plow vehicles to get through. We had plows that got stuck, causing delays in clearing the roads. We had to use front-end loaders, skid steers and other heavy equipment to move the snow before we could even plow.”

About two feet of snow fell at Erie International Airport on Friday alone.

Jeff Gibbens, office manager for the Erie Streets Department, said Monday morning that road conditions in the city continue to be treacherous “due to the sheer amount of snow we’ve received.” People think this is just a normal snowstorm. But that is not the case. This is a weather emergency and we are doing what we can to clear these roads.”

Snow plowing, particularly on side streets, is still hampered by on-street parking and stuck vehicles, making it difficult for snow plows to get through to clear the snow, Gibbens said.

Local officials continue to urge drivers to stay off the road if possible. Travel within Erie city limits remains limited to emergency vehicles, essential personnel and medical emergencies.

“I understand that people need to go to work, school or the store. We’re not telling you to stay home just to stay there,” Gibbens said. “We’re doing this so we can try to get this all done.”

A little help from our friends

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis has coordinated the deployment of heavy snow removal equipment to areas of the county hardest hit by the storm, including Millcreek and Harborcreek townships. Millcreek Township also rented equipment from private dealers.

“And we have four more front loaders coming out of Butler County this afternoon,” Clear said Monday.

Since the storm began, all 17 plows in the community have been operating around the clock, Clear said. At least 24 plows were operating on city streets at any given time, with crews working at least 12-hour shifts, Gibbens said.

“Some put in 16 or 20 hours at a time,” Gibbens said. “We used 150 sets of snow chains on our trucks, some of which we had to borrow from other municipalities. And police still have about 130 cars in the city that need to be towed because they are blocking roads.”

PennDOT mobile equipment crews from across Western Pennsylvania and as far away as Scranton help Erie County crews clear and maintain local highways and secondary roads.

“We were able to pull together resources from across the state, including equipment, labor and management teams,” said PennDOT spokesman Saxon Daugherty. Additional equipment brought for snow removal includes trucks, graders, and snow blowers.

All state-maintained highways and secondary roads were open Monday, Daugherty said. A 45 mph speed limit remained in effect on Interstate 90 from Interstate 79 to the New York State Line and on Interstate 86 from Interstate 90 to the New York State Line.

A snow emergency declared by Millcreek Township on Saturday prohibits parking on snow emergency routes in the township until 8 a.m. Wednesday. Additionally, vehicles without winter tires or chains are prohibited from using these routes, including the entire length of Route 8, Perry Highway, Hershey Road and Peach, 8th, 12th, 26th and 38th streets within the township and Interchange Road from Zimmerly to Peach Street.

Impact of the blizzard:What is still closed, how much snow has fallen

The airport is open

Pittsburgh International Airport employees helped keep Erie International Airport open during the storm. But American Airlines and Breeze Airways canceled all flights to and from Erie Friday through Sunday.

“The airlines have decided not to fly for safety reasons,” said airport CEO Derek Martin. “And it wasn’t clear how many passengers would be able to get to and from the airport.”

The airport asked Pittsburgh for help to keep the runway open.

“Five of their workers came to help us,” Martin said. “Crews worked 12 hours a day, 12 hours a day, to keep the runway open and safe.”

The American Airlines flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, was delayed early Monday morning and was expected to depart early afternoon.

“They haven’t made a final decision on it yet,” Martin said Monday morning.

Other flights between Erie and Charlotte were also delayed Monday pending decisions about their status.

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