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DON'T DRIVE! - Five reasons you shouldn't move today in the snow storm
Posted on Feb 11th, 2010
Take your travel cues from these developments, as of 10 a.m.: Several jurisdictions have temporarily suspended plowing. Pepco has temporarily suspended its outdoor repairs. Several big performances scheduled for Wednesday night have been canceled.
Montgomery suspends plowing
Montgomery County has suspended plowing operations because of the hazardous weather conditions, reports staff writer Michael Ruane.
County spokeswoman Esther Bowring said county highway officials "have suspended [plowing] operations for a little bit, until it's safe...they're starting to get whiteout conditions throughout Montgomery County. It's just not safe to operate."
The county has had as many as 900 pieces of equipment working to clear roads. Bowring said work would resume "as soon as it's safer...It's going to be a judgement call."
She added that the county was preparing an advisory warning people to stay off the roads. "It's pretty dangerous out there now."
[11 a.m. update] The Maryland State Highway Administration, which is responsible for plowing Interstates and main roads, has suspended plowing in Montgomery and Prince George's counties temporarily. Plow drivers are pulling over until conditions improve.
The District
D.C. snow plows were pulled off the streets temporarily "due to safety reasons," said Gabe Klein, director of the District Department of Transportation.
[10:35 a.m. update] Klein said city officials will assess every 20 minutes whether its safe to put city plow crews back on the streets. "We don't want to hit somebody," Klein said. As conditions improve, the crews will be redeploying.
Pepco
At about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Pepco pulled back its crews working to repair downed power lines and other electric equipment, saying conditions were unsafe for them to continue working.
Repair crews were told to "take shelter inside their trucks until the storm abates and conditions are deemed safe for them to work," said Robert Dobkin, a Pepco spokesman. He said it was unclear when conditions would improve enough for crews to return to work, reports staff writer Matt Zapotosky.
As of about 9:50 a.m., Pepco had more than 3,500 customers without power, including 2205 in Montgomery County, 1356 in Prince George's County and 182 in the District.
Virginia
Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Joan Morris said Virginia plow operators have not been recalled but would pull off the road if conditions became unsafe.
"When it's whiteout conditions, they might go to the side of the road," she said. "We don't pull them off the road They might stop and wait it out."
[10:55 a.m. update] The city of Alexandria reports that it temporarily suspended snow plow operations for safety reasons.