Early Saturday evening the roads were clear and traffic was moving. That wasn’t the case earlier in the day when Channel 11 saw an overturned car and several others trapped due to icy roads.
Channel 11 received several calls into the newsroom in the morning with drivers complaining about unsalted roads leading to many accidents.
Slick roads brought a handful of cars to a halt on Negley Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
“It was an iffy drive around,” said Bryce Gamble of Mount Pleasant. “It was slow getting into the city, especially before the tunnel. It was slow and everyone got backed up, almost standing still.”
Heavy snow fell hard and fast Saturday morning, creating a mess for motorists across the city.
“There was a power outage around 9:30 a.m. and you couldn’t even see the city,” said Linda Kikta of Mount Washington. “You couldn’t see the city at all from across the street.”
A car overturned and ended up in the ditch.
A viewer sent a video from Channel 11’s Ring doorbell showing a car skidding across the ice, nearly hitting an SUV and crashing straight into the side of a house on Parkwood Road in a city neighborhood.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> SUV crashes into house after sliding off icy road in Pittsburgh
Many people said the snowfall on this first day of winter was unexpected.
“Yes, it snowed everywhere,” Gamble said. “I was just amazed.”
Dale Stevens of McKeesport agreed.
“It came out of nowhere. I didn’t expect it,” Stevens said. “I was honestly surprised at how hard it came down and how thick the flakes were. It would be a problem.”
By noon, the city of Pittsburgh deployed 40 plow trucks to salt the roads and clear snow.
“They were fine, smooth on these back ones, but the main ones did pretty well,” Stevens said.
“Although many felt the cold, some enjoyed the winter weather.
“I love the snow,” Stevens said. “This time of year is the way it should be.”
Kikta agreed.
“I love it, just in time for Christmas,” she said.
They hope it sticks.
“I hope for a few more days that we will at least have a white Christmas,” Kikta said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Gainey’s office said it could take 24 hours after the snow stops to treat all city streets.
The Department of Public Works called in about 40 snow plow trucks to carry out the cleanup work. Rijkswaterstaat announced this around 2:40 p.m
FINAL DETAILS: Pittsburgh deploys all 40 snowplow trucks after unexpected heavy snowfall
Channel 11 asked if there was a delay in starting that work Saturday morning, but has not heard back yet.
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