Heavy Snow Causes Tuesday Headaches

It took just minutes for a soft coating of snow to cover the ground in Levittown Tuesday morning. From there, it only added up.

Sooner than predicted, or maybe sooner than many hoped, snow intensified and area roads became slick.

Police in Middletown and Bristol Township responded to numerous accidents along Route 413 (Veterans Highway) during the day. One crash at the intersection of Bath Road and Veterans Highway in Bristol Township backed up traffic past New Falls Road and required a tow truck to respond.

Route 1 from Falls to Langhorne was stop and go. Plow trains of PennDOT crews and contractors were a common site on the highway. I-95 appeared similar when observed from the Durham Road overpass.

Large trucks were spotted having trouble along Bath Road in Bristol Borough, Penn Valley Road in Falls and Langhorne-Newtown Road in Middletown. Cars spinning out were common place on nearly all thoroughfares.

Middletown crews were spotted out in the neighborhoods around Neshaminy High School applying a coating of salt shortly before the heavier snowfall began. Later, a PennDOT truck was seen clearing Richardson Avenue in Langhorne.

PennDOT officials counter criticism that no plows were spotted from some on social media with the response that trucks have dozens of miles on their plow route. A information graph showed that highways would be plowed every two to three hours and lower-traffic roads every three to four.

As snow fall rates approached an inch an hour after lunchtime, the roads became clogged with school buses and the everyday motoring public. By later afternoon, the roads began to calm down and clear.

Area schools were either closed or dismissed early, many parents noting to LevittownNow.com their kids were hours late due to buses getting stuck in traffic.

Police departments moved their patrol officers to 4×4 SUVs as the snow mounted. In Bristol Township, where the police department operates almost exclusively with cars, officers had few problems navigating through the snow-packed roads, Lt. Terry Hughes said early Tuesday evening.

Local government meetings were postponed or canceled due to the snow, which is only expected to get heavier as the evening marches on.

With around a foot expected and the possibly of drifting snow, school closings are delays are a possibility for Wednesday.