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Historic Snow Storm Pummels East Coast

More than 2 feet of snow fell along the East Coast and middle Atlantic regions over the weekend, leading transportation agencies to work around the clock to clear snow and ice, while closing highways and streets in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia.

by Staff
January 25, 2016
Historic Snow Storm Pummels East Coast

Photo courtesy of District of Columbia.

2 min to read


Photo courtesy of District of Columbia.

More than 2 feet of snow fell along the East Coast and middle Atlantic regions over the weekend, leading transportation agencies to work around the clock to clear snow and ice, while closing highways and streets in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia.

During the historic snow storm, hundreds of commercial drivers were stranded in their trucks, a Kentucky transportation worker died when his plow truck slid off the road, and a District of Columbia worker abandoned his stuck plow on a residential street.

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As many as 200 tractor-trailers were stranded Friday overnight on Interstate 77 north of Charleston in West Virginia. Hundreds of vehicles, including commercial drivers, were stranded on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Pittsburgh. In Maryland, the I-270 and I-70 from I-81 in Washington County to the Baltimore Beltway had reopened as of 7 a.m. Sunday, reports the Boston Globe.

The City of Philadelphia lifted its snow emergency at 10 p.m. Sunday, allowing vehicle parking along snow emergency routes. The city canceled trash collection Monday after using the sanitation trucks to clear streets. The city deployed 600 street and fleet employees and 400 plow drivers, reports the Inquirer.

A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet worker was found dead in his snow plow truck just before 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, reports WDRB. Christopher Adams, 44, had been plowing roads when he ran off the side of Highway 115, reports WKU Public Radio.

A D.C. worker abandoned his snow plow after it became stuck in a residential neighborhood on 33rd Street NW around 6 p.m. Saturday. Residents decorated the truck with holiday lights, reports the Washington Post.

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