Highway superintendent: Local roads open and passable, use extra caution

Riverhead’s local roads are all open and passable, Highway Superintendent George Woodson said this morning.

Roadways remain covered in packed snow and may be icy, so motorists should drive slow and use extra caution.

Highway crews have removed drifts and cleared snow, using heavy-duty snowblower vehicles, payloaders and plows. Roads have been sanded and crews are resting today, Woodson said. Crews worked more than 40 hours straight, he said. Workers will be dispatched as needs arise.

One remaining trouble spot continues to be Reeves Avenue between Roanoke and Horton, which keeps drifting over. A car was stuck there this morning and had to be towed out, Woodson said. A crew will clear the snow on that road again this morning.

“If you go down the road and a car’s stuck in front of you,
dont try to drive around it,” Woodson said. “The car is stuck for a reason. When you try to drive around it, chances are you’re going to get stuck and then the whole road is blocked,” he said. “This was a big problem we had yesterday.”

“With a storm like this, when the town declares a state of emergency, nobody should be out on the roads,” Woodson said. “Too many people seem to think they can just go about their normal routines, even in the aftermath of a blizzard.”

Woodson responded to critics on social media complaining that there was not enough snow fencing put up around town. The highway department did put up snow fencing, he said. It erects the fencing where it’s needed to protect roads from drifting in a winter storm, which usually has northeast winds. The winds blew from the northwest in this storm, Woodson said.

“Sometimes snow fencing can actually make things worse, but people don’t want to hear it,” he said, weariness in his voice.

“Our guys work hard, around the clock, they bust their butts to keep the roads open and safe.”

Winds remained at about 20 mph yesterday, with gusts up to 35 mph. Calmer winds are forecast today, still from the northwest, at 10 to 15 mph.

Temperatures will remain cold through today and tonight, but will warm up to the mid-30s tomorrow, when there wil be a chance of freezing rain, snow and sleet in the afternoon and evening. Little or no accumulation is expected.

Things will warm up after that, with temperatures climbing into the mid-40s on Thursday and upper 40s on Friday, with a 50 percent chance of rain Thursday through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.