I-95 Open Now in All States Hit by Massive Snowstorm
Further north in Maine, though, where snow reached 30 inches in some parts, I-95 stayed open throughout the worst of the storm.
“It wasn’t that big a deal,” said Peter Mills, director of the Maine Turnpike Authority. The turnpike covers 109 miles of I-95 through the state.
The timing of the storm, unlike heavy snowfall in the dead of night, allowed snowplow crews to work throughout, he said “The thing that tells us is visibility; if we can’t see, we can’t plow.
“This time, the intensity of the storm really hit hard about dawn and lasted all through the day, so the whiteout conditions were combined with brightness.”
Crews could stop the plow, clear the windshield and resume work without a letup, Mills said.
“With daylight . . . you were able to see the perimeter of the road a little bit. Whereas at night, you just don’t have those clues, and you wind up driving off into the willy-wags,” he added.
“And there was enough hype about this storm that everything closed in Maine, everybody stayed home so the boys had the road to themselves,” Mills said.
In Massachusetts, when Gov. Charlie Baker announced Jan. 28 that he was lifting the travel ban there at midnight, he said there’s still “a massive amount of work ahead” for crews removing the snow.
“While the travel ban will no longer be in effect . . . I urge the people of Massachusetts to stay off the roads unless they must travel,” he said.
Baker also asked drivers, especially those in Boston and eastern counties, to be cautious and respect snow cleanup efforts.
The Massachusetts Turnpike, which is I-90, also has been opened.
