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Drivers in Franklin County prepare for Wednesday storm

SOUTHAMPTON TWP., Pa. – Drivers along Interstate 81 spent Tuesday night hurrying to their destinations in advance of Wednesday’s winter weather even...

SOUTHAMPTON TWP., Pa. - Drivers along Interstate 81 spent Tuesday night hurrying to their destinations in advance of Wednesday's winter weather event.

For Ronald Haines of New York, he is a truck driver who drives freight from New York to Roanoke, Virginia on a daily basis. But he was on his way back to New York Tuesday night, and plans to stay there Wednesday.

"It's just preparation," he said about driving in the winter weather. "The storm is going to be okay as long as everybody puts their lights on so you can see. I drive a set of doubles on the truck down the road and you can't see people who don't turn the lights on. It's a major issue."

PennDOT crews throughout the area spent Tuesday preparing for the storm.

"What we do is get ready in terms of checking equipment, making sure everything's in good working order, making sure that the crews know what time they have to report in the morning," said PennDOT spokesperson Fritzi Schreffler.

Franklin County crews are being called in at 2 a.m. Wednesday, while crews in the rest of the area will report at 4 a.m.

The storm is expected to dump snow at first before giving way to a wintry mix in the daytime hours.

"[We're] currently in the middle of mixing anti-skid and salt, because we're expecting more ice towards the end of the storm," said Schreffler. "So at that point, salt is less effective below 22 degrees, so we mix it with a gravely mix and it gives some traction to the road."

Many roads still have salt on them, and that played a role in how PennDOT prepared for the storm.

"Not too many of our counties are doing pre-treating, and it's simply because we just are coming off of the very similar storm over the weekend, so there is plenty of residue already on the ground," said Schreffler.

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