PITTSBURGH -- If downtown commuters thought the Monday morning drive to work was a nightmare, the ride home won't be much better.

While some streets were clear, many others were still packed down with snow and ice from the winter storm that hit on Friday and Saturday.

At 10 a.m. -- when traffic has usually died down from the morning rush -- downtown still looked like it typically does at 8 a.m. in the height of the rush.

"I was sliding on black ice on Veterans Bridge, so it's crazy out there. Nobody should be out here. I should've called off, probably," one person said.

"They're messy. I really don't see an excuse for the mess that they're in. Other communities outside Pittsburgh are clean and ours are a disaster," said Bob Streb, of Carrick.

"Traffic is backed up. The roads are still icy in spots and people are crazy," said bus driver Charles Washington.

In Pittsburgh, many people slipped and fell and quickly got up as they walked around downtown Monday morning. One person with a suitcase hit his head as he slipped near the corner of William Penn Place and Oliver Avenue.
Video - Pittsburghers Slip, Fall Downtown

Pittsburgh officials even called in the county and the state to help try to get roads clear.

"We're trying to cut a path and get people off of their streets and onto the main roads, which are in a lot better condition than the secondary streets. That's our goal -- to get people out of their homes and onto the main thoroughfares," said Pittsburgh Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski.

Much of the packed snow caused a bumpy ride, which some drivers described as like driving over potholes.

With more snow on the way, crews are working to get the streets cleared before the next storm.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl even asked fire crews to start pitching in to help get cars and homes cleared.

"We feel pretty good about it, but obviously we hope everything goes pretty good tonight and we're going to give it everything we've got. Like the mayor told me, 'Get it done,' Kaczorowski said.

Officials said 63 Pittsburgh Public Works trucks have been working around the clock, but clearing roads takes time.

"It took us about 45 minutes to do one street segment -- that's plowing. You can't just go in it, plow it one way and back out and you're gone. It takes you almost four times as long to do it," said Kaczorowski.

Despite the tie ups, state police said they had only 10 reports of disabled vehicles or accidents on Monday morning -- compared with almost 40 Saturday night.

National Guard Aids Emergency Crews

The challenges of rough, snow roads prompted Pittsburgh to ask for extra help for their emergency crews.

Video: National Guard Helps Emergency Crews

National Guard members are helping ambulances and other crews get patients to emergency care.

One woman was carried from her Mount Washington home by the National Guard after the ambulance couldn't get to the house on Olympia Avenue.

"On this mission in particular, paramedics would not have been able to reach either patient if it wasn't for our Humvees to get down that street that was completely covered in snow," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Biondo.

"It's kind of frustrating to know when people need help you can't always get it (because) the streets aren't plowed," said Katie Ketchum, who lives in Mount Washington.

Channel 4 Action News' Marcie Cipriani reported some homeowners are trying to help emergency crews by clearing fire hydrants and marking hazards so crews won't run into them in the heavy snow.