HARRISBURG — As Winter Storm Stella makes her way to the region, Gov. Tom Wolf has signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency.
Along with that announcement via a news release Monday, Wolf announced that PennDOT and the Turnpike will restrict speeds on interstates and some large commercial vehicular travel. PennDOT will strategically deploy additional assets to areas expected to be hardest hit by the storm, including the Northeast, Poconos and Lehigh Valley.
Wolf said state agencies will provide an update on preparations for the impending winter storm at 3:30 p.m. today. The briefing will streamed live here.
The news release clarified that a ‘state of emergency’ has not been declared, as it does not prohibit vehicular travel on commonwealth roads. Motorists, however, are strongly encouraged to delay all unnecessary travel and heed local road closures that may be in place.
A proclamation ensures emergency resources can be procured as needed and increases protections for consumers from price-gouging.
“State agencies continue to take proactive steps to ensure Pennsylvania is ready for the incoming winter weather and Pennsylvanians should take their own precautions and prepare for adverse conditions, especially for travel,” Wolf said in a news release. “I ask residents and commercial drivers across the commonwealth to prepare to avoid unnecessary travel on roadways during this time – as to let road crews and emergency responders do their jobs and minimize dangerous travel.”
The announcement comes as numerous municipalities throughout Luzerne County announce garbage collection changes or parking bans ahead of the storm.
All of Northeastern Pennsylvania is under a winter storm warning from 8 p.m. tonight until 8 p.m. Wednesday. Anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snow is expected by Wednesday, with up to 20 inches possible in isolated areas.
Travel Restrictions and PennDOT Resources
To help PennDOT and PA Turnpike crews get the optimum access to the interstates and expressways during the storm, beginning at 10 p.m. Monday, these restrictions will be in place on all interstates and expressways east of Interstate 99 and including Interstate 99:
• 45 mph speed limit
• Ban on tandem truck trailers, empty trailers, towed trailers, buses, recreational vehicles and motorcycles.
These restrictions will be in place on Interstates 70, 76, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 283, 176, 180, 476, 380 and all expressways not on the interstate system. The Turnpike will have the same restrictions beginning at 10 p.m. Monday from the Bedford Interchange east to New Jersey and on the entire Northeastern Extension.
PennDOT is also canceling all superload permits for movement on Tuesday.
PennDOT will also be redeploying assets to eastern Pennsylvania, where the brunt of the storm is forecast to hit. Three Mobile Equipment Teams will be dispatched. Each team consists of five plow trucks, 10 equipment operators and one supervisor. Teams are being dispatched from PennDOT’s northwestern Pennsylvania district to the Scranton area, from the Pittsburgh area district to Monroe County near Stroudsburg and from southwestern Pennsylvania to the Lehigh Valley area.
According to a news release, PennDOT has 4,800 equipment operators, more than 2,000 plow trucks, and 49 snow blowers. All of PennDOT’s 11 regions will go on round-the-clock duty beginning Monday evening.
PennDOT’s goal is to keep roadways passable, and interstates and expressways take priority over lower volume routes.
Proclamation of Disaster Emergency Impacts
The proclamation authorizes state agencies to use all available resources and personnel as necessary to cope with the magnitude and severity of this emergency situation. The time-consuming bidding and contract procedures, as well as other formalities normally prescribed by law, are waived for the duration of the proclamation.
Also, the proclamation authorizes the Department of Transportation to waive regulations related to drivers of commercial vehicles to ensure the timely movement of commodities, particularly food and home heating fuel.
It also provides consumer protections against price gouging by prohibiting companies from charging a price for consumer goods or services that exceeds 20 percent of the average price that the consumer goods or services were sold for in the 7 days preceding the effective date of the Wolf’s proclamation.
In the event travel is absolutely necessary, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles. PennDOT’s Automated Vehicle Locator plow tracking tool is available for all of the more than 2,200 PennDOT-owned and rented plow trucks, on 511PA.
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