Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s office said Monday that officials hope to have roads cleared in time for Tuesday’s morning commute, as crews continued cleaning up after Sunday’s heavy snow.
A major winter storm hit the area with several inches of snow Sunday night into Monday, leaving roads slick for Monday’s morning rush hour. The Pittsburgh region saw about 7 inches by Monday, a Gainey spokesperson said.
The city’s Department of Public Works “mobilized all resources” to respond to the storm, including 80 snowplows and more than 20,000 tons of salt. Crews are using a higher-quality salt that works at lower temperatures and remains on the roads to help snow melt for a longer period of time, Gainey’s office said in a statement Sunday.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, crews drove more than 600 hours with salt trucks and snowplows, a spokesperson for Gainey said. They spread over 2.7 million pounds — or 2,700 tons — of salt along city roads, treating over 1,200 miles of roads by 6 a.m. Monday.
Public Works crews are working mandatory overtime to clear the roads, and employees are working to clear steps, sidewalks and bridges by hand. About 10 more workers are on standby to assist with emergency facilities requests, like power outages, heating issues or plumbing problems.
Gainey encouraged people to stay home if possible to allow Public Works crews to clear the roads.
As snow begins to taper off Monday afternoon, crews will start tackling neighborhood roads, the spokesperson said.
Gainey encouraged people who have to travel on roads that have yet to be plowed to exercise extra caution.
“Driving in icy road conditions is dangerous and the shortest route is not always the safest,” he said. “Consider less hilly routes to reach your destination when possible. More importantly, drive slowly.”
Pittsburgh residents can see which roads in their area have been plowed already with the city’s online snowplow tracker.
