Schuylkill, Blue Route, I-676 Shut Down

PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania shut down major highways Wednesday after the roadways were rendered nearly impassable by a winter storm that brought much of the state to a standstill and hampered efforts to restore power to thousands of customers in western Pennsylvania.

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The state shut down Interstate 76 and I-676 in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. Wednesday, leaving the city of 1.5 million with only a single major artery, Interstate 95.

The state also closed I-476 in suburban Philadelphia and I-83, I-78, I-176 and part of I-81 from the Maryland state line to I-80 at 12:30 p.m.

"For your safety, do not drive," Gov. Ed Rendell said. "You will risk your life and, potentially, the lives of others if you get stuck on highways or any road."

Blockades were being put up at entrance ramps of closed highways. Rendell said no motorists were stranded on the highways; nearly 1,200 National Guard members were patrolling highways, transporting patients and shutting down interstate ramps, said Col. Xavier Stewart.

Speed restrictions were placed on highways that remain open and tractor trailers were being told to stay off some highways. Earlier, crashes on eastbound Interstate 80 in Clearfield County closed a nine-mile stretch of the highway and sent 17 people to a hospital, though only three were admitted.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike remained open, but officials said they were keeping a very close eye on conditions on the toll road.

"We feel we're able to stay open right now," said Carl DeFebo, a turnpike spokesman. "It's something we're monitoring constantly."

In western Pennsylvania, Allegheny Power was reporting more than 28,000 customers without power and said it hoped to restore service Thursday; about 2,000 Duquesne Light customers remained without power in Pittsburgh and its immediate suburbs. Some of those customers had been without power since Friday, remnants of a weekend snowstorm.

Glenn Harvey, 59, who has a lung problem that requires him to receive oxygen, had been staying at a Red Cross shelter in Bentleyville since Saturday; firefighters brought him to the shelter after the storm knocked out power to his house Friday night.

"I was almost out of oxygen and had no electricity," he said.

His wife has been staying at their home, along with their dog, using a kerosene heater to keep warm and he keeps in touch with her by cell phone. "It's not been easy on her," he said.

In Philadelphia, the streets were largely empty downtown as people heeded the mayor's warning to stay home. The city's transit agency planned to shut down all bus service at 5 p.m.

Sarah Jonas, 24, a nursing aide at a Philadelphia hospital, took the train to work Wednesday morning and brought a bag packed with two days' worth of clothes just in case she gets snowed in at work.

"Staying home is not an option," said Jones, who lives in the suburb of Media. "Who knows what the conditions will be by the end of the day."

Nearly all flights at Philadelphia International Airport were canceled through Thursday morning, but there were no travelers stranded at the airport, spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said.

Some fliers flocked to trains instead.

Craig Engel of Meredith, N.H., was in Philadelphia on business and had planned to fly back Wednesday to Manchester, N.H. After his flight was canceled, Engel waited at 30th Street Station for an Amtrak train to Boston. Once there, Engel said he'll have to rent a car and drive to the Manchester airport to pick up his own vehicle, and then drive the 40 miles drive home to Meredith — weather permitting.

The storm would be welcome in some ways in New Hampshire, which escaped the Mid-Atlantic blizzard last weekend.

"We could actually use the snow for the snowmobilers and the cross country skiers," Engel said. "But for the travelers, we don't want the snow."

At Pennsylvania resorts, many skiers were indeed taking advantage of the fresh powder.

About 1,500 people were skiing or snowboarding at Camelback Mountain Resort in the Poconos, which was getting 2 inches of snow an hour Wednesday afternoon.

With so many roadways shut down, some weren't sure how they were going to get home.

Siblings Kevin and Sharon Davis had planned to drive home to Burlington, N.J., following a day on the slopes. With many highways shut down, however, they were going to trying to make it to a hotel in Allentown, about 15 miles away.

But not before getting in a few more runs.

"We're going to go back out for a little more," said Kevin, 27.

"What else are we going to do? We're stuck," said Sharon, 23.