Icy Roads Lead to Icy Complaints

By Mallory Pfeffer

The anticipation around the Triangle was unmistakable this past Friday as people began preparing for the snow. Grocery store shelves were stripped of milk, eggs, bread and batteries, salt caked the highways, and people raced home from work to beat the oncoming storm.  We all awoke Saturday morning to a winter wonderland — children frolicked, couples went on walks, and families relaxed in the warm sanctuary of their homes.  Now, fast forward. The fun is over, and cabin fever is certainly setting in for Wake County students.

While most have returned to work and college co-eds are attending classes, Wake County has issued its third snow day for public schools. With yet another day of cancellations, fingers point towards the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT). On Monday, ABC11 Eyewitness News anchor Barbara Gibbs reported that the DOT is being both “criticized and praised for their response” to the storm, and an N&O article released Tuesday stated that “there were varying degrees of success in how well streets were cleared of ice and snow.” Clearly, the DOT can’t please everyone.

I am certainly one of the disgruntled citizens scrutinizing the DOT for failing to venture into roads surrounding my house. The plows reached hundreds of other secondary streets, so why couldn’t they turn down mine when neighboring streets received attention? Jon Nance, chief engineer for the DOT, was interviewed by ABC11 Eyewitness News stating that, “some of the state’s smaller roads have taken a back seat to bigger roads, but…all the major thoroughfares were clear Monday and for some that’s good enough.” He also stated that at night “it was too cold and there was nothing on the roads but unplowable ice,” suggesting that at times there was little crews could do to improve the situation.

Whether or not the DOT is to blame for the snow and ice that is still on the roads and for the kids that are still out of school remains unsettled. Representatives continue to assert that every effort is being made to get the roads cleared, but it appears some roads are still unsafe. With a weekend forecast calling for a possibility of more freezing rain and snow can we trust the DOT to respond to our needs, or will see the same results? Looks like we will just have to wait and see.

Photo Source: Flickr