Drivers Work Around the Clock to Ease Motorists Commute

Garfield Heights (Thursday, December 9, 2010) – Persistent snow bands across northeast Ohio over the last four days have kept the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) snowplows and drivers on the move. 

District 12 snowplow drivers drove nearly 47,000 miles between Sunday, December 5 and Wednesday, December 8 – enough to drive to warm and sunny Las Vegas 11 times and back.  

While Geauga County was the hardest hit area in District 12, with snow falls totaling more than three feet in some locations, downtown Cleveland motorists were blasted with an evening rush hour storm on Wednesday, dropping in excess of an inch of snow each hour.

More than 40 snowplows battled whiteout conditions Wednesday evening throughout Cuyahoga County allowing 80 percent of the more than 1,400 lanes miles to be traveled at, or near, the posted speed limits. 

Overnight Wednesday, crews performed tandem plowing operations – where a group of snowplows work together to remove large amounts of snow from roadways – in order to provide a smooth Thursday morning commute.

Since November 1, 2010, ODOT’s premier traffic Web site – www.BuckeyeTraffic.org – has received more than 18.5 million hits, with most people are visiting the site between 4 and 5 p.m. right before their evening commute.  With its user-friendly, map-based featured BuckeyeTraffic.org provides up-to-date traffic information and 24-hour road conditions across the state.

While this storm may have passed, another is on the horizon, and ODOT crews will continue clearing berms and shoulders, restocking salt barns and tuning-up snowplows in preparation for the next round of forecasted snow expected to begin Sunday. 

Remember, Ice and Snow…Take it Slow.

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For more information contact:
The ODOT District 12 Communications Office at (216) 584-2006