Latest Travel News:

Officials consider factors in restricting area travel
Ferbruary 10, 2010

Tuesday's snow wasn't drifting yet when Wayne County officials started thinking about travel safety.

Wayne County Commission President Ken Paust is designated by the Board of Commissioners to make transportation emergency decisions for the county, and he does so in consultation with Wayne County highway supervisor Mike Sharp, Sheriff Matt Strittmatter and Emergency Management Agency director Fred Griffin.

Paust said he spent part of Tuesday afternoon in the Emergency Management Agency office learning more about predictions for the storm and current conditions. The decision to restrict travel is based on several factors, including safety, he said.

"During a storm, we will keep a person in the EMA office 24 hours a day watching radar," Paust said. "I'll be in touch, monitoring situations all night."

Wayne County has three emergency levels, with a Level 3 transportation emergency the most restrictive. A Level 3 emergency means roads are unsafe for travel and all local roadways are considered closed to non-emergency vehicles, according to the county ordinance. The restrictions don't apply to state and federal highways.

Not everyone obeys the county's travel restrictions. Level 3 status last weekend didn't keep 50 snow-stuck vehicles from being abandoned on the roadways, Paust said. Violators can be ticketed, but that's not the preferred outcome, he said.

"We need to keep people off the roads so they can be safe and we can clear the roads. A vehicle in the road is just like having a wall there for a snowplow," Paust said. "We have to call the sheriff's department and find out who it belongs to. We have to get a wrecker in there. It takes a lot of time and the snow plow is just sitting. Manpower costs go up anyway during a snowstorm."

Tuesday's snow came down gently, but Sharp predicted 35 mph winds promised later in the day could make area road conditions "dicey" today. Sharp said he and a foreman drove snowplows during the weekend storm to save overtime hours.

Wayne County didn't immediately go to a Level 1 travel warning Tuesday because county roads had been cleared of Friday and Saturday's snowfall, Paust said. Franklin County, which has many hills, declared a Level 3 transportation emergency around noon Tuesday.

Source :- http://www.pal-item.com