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Slick roads made for a dicey commute

3 min read
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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

Traffic backs up Wednesday morning on interstate 70 westbound after a tractor-trailer crash between the Chestnut Street and Taylorstown exits.

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Traffic stops after a car slides into a guardrail near the intersection of Thomas Road and Waterdam Road in Peters Township.

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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

Gary Harvey shovels ice off the sidewalk along East Chestnut Street in Washington on Wednesday.

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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

Leaves and branches are covered with ice at Washington Park Wednesday.

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Ice covers a fence and weeds along Turkeyfoot Road in Venetia early Wednesday.

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A man cleans ice and slush from in front of A&D Custom Cycles in Finleyville on Wednesday morning.

While Washington County may have been spared significant snow accumulation Wednesday, drivers were challenged nonetheless with slushy and icy roads that made for slick travel.

By 8 a.m., 911 dispatchers had sent police to at least a half-dozen crashes, and that number only increased throughout the day. A tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 70 westbound between the Taylorstown and West Chestnut Street exits, blocking both lanes of the highway in that direction for about an hour.

“The crews were prepared for this one,” said Valerie Petersen, community relations coordinator for the state Department of Transportation, adding different crews had been on duty for 24 hours.

“But we really had it a lot easier than most of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Petersen said. “It was mainly rain and slush with some ice.”

Petersen said a few crashes were reported, along with disabled vehicles.

The dicey conditions prompted PennDOT to reduce the speed limit on Interstates 70 and 79 to 45 mph.

“It is best for drivers to stay off roads during weather like this to give operators a chance to treat the roads,” Petersen said.

If a disabled vehicle causes a backup, it also prevents the salt trucks from getting through to take care of the roads, she added.

North Strabane Township police Sgt. David Richards said a driver suffered a facial injury when the airbag of his vehicle deployed after the vehicle spun off the 800 block of Thomas-Eighty Four Road and hit a tree Wednesday morning.

“I think there was a lot less traffic out there,” Richards said. “I think many people erred on the side of caution and didn’t venture out, which helped out road crews.”

Cecil Township police Detective Mark Marcucci said the roads were slushy earlier in the morning, but were later wet. He said one person was injured when a vehicle crashed into a guardrail in the 1000 block of Cecil-Hendersonville Road near Morganza Road. The driver was taken to St. Clair Hospital for treatment of unknown injuries.

Chartiers Township police Sgt. Ron Raymond said no one was injured when a vehicle slid off the 1000 block of Western Avenue and hit a tree about 7:30 a.m.

In Canonsburg, police Chief Al Coghill said drivers were not having any issues getting around.

“The roads are slushy, and everyone seems to be getting around just fine,” Coghill said.

While the streets in Monongahela were in good shape, police Chief Brian Tempest said a vehicle slid off Mingo Church Road in Union Township and crashed into a gas meter.

“The roads that way were nothing but ice,” the chief said.

A crew from Columbia Gas responded to make repairs to the meter.

A tree limb brought down a single electric line on Main Street in West Alexander Wednesday morning, said Donegal Township police Chief John Yancosek. The township building on Liberty Street lost power, as did about a dozen homes, he added. A warming station was opened at the township fire hall. Power was restored later in the day.

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