Icy Conditions To Blame As Crashes Snarl Traffic

PITTSBURGH -- The chill in the air resulted in a chill on the roads as drivers in Allegheny and surrounding counties battled ice on their morning drive.

Channel 4 Action News' Scott Stiller reported icy roads were to blame for a number of crashes and closures on Pittsburgh-area roads.

Slideshow: Crashes Snarl Traffic
Video: Watch Bob Mayo's Report

Raw Video: Tractor Trailers Collide On I-80

The HOV lanes on the Parkway North were closed because of icy conditions on Friday morning. Those lanes have since reopened.

Stiller reported that a number of previous accidents were cleared and traffic back to moving smoothly on Route 60 near Hopewell, on McKnight Road near Arcadia Drive, and on McKnight Road near Babcock Boulevard. A crash on Prospect Road near Streets Run Road is now clear, as are problems on Route 819 in Scottdale.

"They [PennDOT] can't be everywhere. Everybody expects them to be out there, but people have to slow down, that's all," said Kurt Bogati, of Hopewell.

Mayo spoke to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Struzzi on Friday. Struzzi said crews were out and equipped to salt roads and did pre-treat bridge decks and ramps. Struzzi said PennDOT did not have predictions of icy conditions and that some wet areas froze quickly when the temperature dropped.

"Well, [the accidents] certainly could have [been prevented] if people had slowed down, paid more attention to the newscasts -- obviously these were extraordinary circumstances," said Struzzi. "We had PennDOT crews out all night, addressing bridges and overpasses, but the problem became widespread very quickly, where you had isolated areas of significant icing conditions, so it was difficult for us to be everywhere at once."

In Westmoreland County, an overturned truck on Route 982 near Baggley in Unity Township is still blocking the roadway. Channel 4 Action News' Bob Mayo reported the driver told them he hit a patch of ice and lost control of the rig and the load of coal he was carrying. It took crews several hours to clean it up.

For the latest traffic updates, visit WTAE's Traffic Pages…

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