I don't know about I-95 but I-85 is reportedly closed from Charlotte to the VA border. There is some confusion; someone reported 85 is open from Greensboro north. In any event, hundreds--HUNDREDS-- of tractor-trailers are jacknifed, stalled, stuck with frozen brakes, frozen to the highway, whatever, all through North Carolina. Checking carefully the helo footage of continuous lines of trucks, I didn't notice any logos from the four major food groups suppliers--Anheuser-Busch, Frito-Lay, Folger, or Hershey--but other commodities might be affected. Truck drivers are "sheltering in place." There is talk about finding some way to deliver food to them, possibly by means of the National Guard in Humvees.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 26, 2000

Answers

Hi again neighbor,

I heard the same report here on local news. Roads are really bad here. Husband off work again today, he says even HMMWV (Hummer - High Mobility Military Wheel Vehicle) will have some trouble on the ice. M1 Abrams would even have trouble. The Guard has their work cut out for them.

RDU closed at least until Thursday.

Hope you are safe and trying to stay warm over there. Did your power stay up? Ours did. PWC does a good job.

~Dee

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), January 26, 2000.

I remember back when I drove a truck-they always said to keep 3 days food, water, and a mylar blanket in the truck with you in case you got stuck on a ramp for several days.

I only had to use my provisions once in five years-I got stuck in a snowstorm for 24 hours in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn (bobtail- my trailer was being loaded elsewhere) outside the Newark airport in Jan. 1994.

-- Die Fledermaus (shadow@alliance.org), January 26, 2000.

There are 300 tractor-trailers stuck in a 5-mile stretch of I-85 north of Durham alone. I would think the truckers all have emergency supplies, otherwise they would be using their cell phones to call for help. Some have been calling local TV stations to report on conditions, getting the number from the portable TVs they carry in their cabs.

(We have power still, thank goodness--managed to get the snow off the tree limbs pressing heavily on our power/phone lines--yes, we were VERY careful!--so that the lines are now almost straight.)

DOT Working to Clear Roads; Planes, Trains and Automobiles Stranded

(WRAL-TV, Raleigh) -- No matter where you go, all you see is snow. It is providing lots of problems for people who are trying to get from here to there and back again. Whether it is on the ground or in the air -- no one is going anywhere, anytime soon.

Roads: Roads remain treacherous to travel on around the Triangle. The State Highway Patrol reported that a van is stuck on Interstate 440 near Wake Forest. A tractor-trailer jackknifed near the van, making that part of the Beltline impassable.

Four tractor-trailers got stuck trying to cross the overpass on Interstate 40 at Airport Boulevard early Wednesday morning.

Interstate 85 from the Virginia border to Butner is cluttered with abandoned vehicles that the State Highway Patrol is trying to clear.

The N.C. Department of Transportation has worked nonstop since Monday night spreading sand and salt. Workers are exhausted from long shifts. Jerry Linder, head of DOT road maintenance, says he cut back on crews Tuesday evening so his workers could get some well-deserved rest.

Linder, who was scheduled to retire last week, told WRAL's Mark Roberts that this was the worst winter storm he had seen in about 30 years. Even plows were stuck in the snow.

Road conditions across the state were hazardous, especially after more than 12 consecutive hours of snowfall. Visibility was limited due to high winds and blowing snow.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol put out the call for motorists to stay off the road.

While many took heed, many others ventured out only to wind up in trouble. At one point, more than 100 cars were stranded in Orange County.

Authorities continue to urge residents to stay off the roads.

Four-Wheeled Heroes: The call went out to WRAL-TV viewers and WRAL OnLine visitors with four-wheel drive vehicles to help medical workers and stranded motorists. Many people braved dangerous conditions to help neighbors and total strangers.

Michael Gillespie and his wife drove their SUV all over the Triangle, volunteering their help through the Cary Police Department. Gillespie delivered medical staff to local hospitals and even made a special delivery of baby formula to a Cary family. He and his wife plan to continue their mercy missions throughout the night.

The following hospitals and agencies are calling for volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles:

UNC Hospitals: 919-966-2393, 919-966-4131 Cary Health and Rehab: 919-851-8000 Carol Williamson (family without heater): 919-772-2086 Emergency Food Service Director: 919-231-3079 Duke Hospital: 684-2222 Durham Emergency Mgmt: 919-383-1596 Rex Hospital: 919-784-3299

Air Travel: All flights in and out of RDU International were canceled Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Crews are working to clear the runways.

Several airlines report that they will not resume their service until Thursday morning. Passengers who have flights leaving from RDU should contact their airline to check on the status of their flights.

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Airways canceled all of its east coast service between Raleigh-Durham and La Guardia in New York City due to the snowstorm.

A private plane had to be pulled out of the way after skidding off the a runway Monday night. No one was hurt.

The airport played host to 240 passengers stranded at the airport since Monday night. RDU spokesperson Mike Blanton says the airport is not a luxury hotel, but the airport staff and a food service company are providing shelter and free meals.

Bus Service: Even people who left the driving to someone else ended up getting stuck. The road got too risky for a Greyhound bus from Fayetteville. The weather forced the driver to pull over in Raleigh late Monday night. Now about 40 passengers are stranded until the roads are clear.

The Salvation Army delivered food, and Greyhound is footing the bill for Tuesday night's hotel rooms.

Much of Greyhound's east coast network is backed up by this storm. Until roads are clear, bus riders will have to wait it out.

Rail Service: The same is true if you are riding the rails across North Carolina or to the nation's capital. Amtrak says it has canceled the following train routes south of Washington D.C.

Piedmont: eastbound from Charlotte to Raleigh Carolinian: northbound from Raleigh to Washington Carolinian: southbound from Washington to Charlotte.

More stories at the site: http://www.wral-tv.com/news/wral/

January 26, 2000 9:16 a.m. EST

Heavy Snow Strands Motorists in North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina-AP -- There are still hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 85 in North Carolina -- along a 20-mile stretch of icy highway that's been virtually shut down by jackknifed trucks.

Some of them have been stranded in their cars since Tuesday afternoon.

They've been calling T.V. stations on their cell phones to talk of their plight.

One woman, from San Diego, says she doesn't understand why nobody's come to rescue them.

The region has been paralyzed by up to two feet of snow. The storm has also left tens of thousands without power in North Carolina.

The National Guard says military policemen are riding along with state Highway Patrol officers to help stranded motorists. But he says what they really need are tow trucks.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 26, 2000.

It doesn't suprise me that the highways are littered with jacknifed trucks. When I was a driver, Dispatch would always try to push you through the worst weather so you could make your drops and pickups as scheduled. I quit a job once over a load of paper that they wanted me to drive on a two lane road that the highway patrol said was 90% snow and ice-covered. Paper!! Can you imagine the arrogance of risking people's lives over rolls of paper.

Ten people were burned beyond recognition in an accident on slick roads in Kansas City on Sunday when a truck carrying hydrochloric acidwrecked and fueled the fire caused by a 21 car pile up following the jacknife of another truck on I-29. I hope that driver's dispatcher was thrilled with himself.

Cell phones, hmmm. Back when I drove cross country (2-5 years ago), there were so many dead spots out west that few of us had cell phones. Ah, the times, they are a'changin'.

-- Die Fledermaus (shadow@alliance.org), January 26, 2000.

Die,

I concur.

Let's hope they can get these folks out of there safe and sound. Glad to know the truckers carry ER supplies. I wondered about that. The TV footage from the air was staggering...all the trucks at a complete standstill.

When I was a teenager I worked at a truckstop for a summer job. Truckers were the nicest group of people. I came to appreciate their efforts in keeping the supplies rolling.

Thanks much for your input.

~Dee =)

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), January 26, 2000.

LOL OG !! "four major food groups"! Such class. Thanks for gracing this board with your civilized inputs.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.cellrelaytower), January 26, 2000.

"One woman, from San Diego, says she doesn't understand why nobody's come to rescue them."

That's a rather revealing comment, now, isn't it....?

-- Norm Harrold (nharrold@terragon.com), January 26, 2000.

Hey, SH--priorities. I knew people would be worried if any shortages of those items might be likely to develop!

Department of Transportation has just announced that one line of I-85 north is now open. However, it's going to take AGES for all those trucks to get on their way.

Another curfew has also just been announced, six to six. Good idea--the small amount of snow melt today will freeze into thick ice as the sun goes down tonight.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 26, 2000.

Hi Old,

Gosh, from sound of things, it was a nasty storm. Fortunatelly, with all the Y2K prep, most folks on this forum living on the coast should be just fine. I bet there are some folks finding it nice to hunker down and enjoy a few days off normal work. (Is that the sound of generators I hear in the background? and yes, I think that's the unmistakable smell of logs burning I smell in the air...with a full pantry who could ask for anything more)

Good luck jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), January 26, 2000.

OG, the report touched on the plight of the state's road crews but did it address any equipment shortfalls? When I was a kid in NC an eight to twelve inch snowfall was getting to the extreme limits of what the Triangle area DOT crews were equipped to handle.

I can't imagine what a twenty inch plus snowfall looks like around there with only graders and truck-mounted push blades to handle it. Here in snow country when we had a twenty inch plus storm the PA state crews had to break out specialized wedge plows to allow the push plows to start to work.

I can never recall seeing wedge plows or snowblowers in the Peidmont region of NC. I wonder if there might not be some call for assistance to snowbelt states for such equipment to help clear the mess.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 26, 2000.

WW, luckily this is a boom area and there are lots of contractors with grading equipment and operators to rent to state and local government. There are few snow plows and the only snow blower I know of is at the airport--which is still shut down, I believe. I have not seen snow plows in our neighborhood (close to Duke University and Medical Center) and I understand it will be some time before secondary highways--and I mean relatively major arteries--are scraped. I've heard the National Guard is helping to clear roads but there are over 500 miles of roads to take care of--we will have to be patient.

No newspaper for two days and, so far, no mail either.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 26, 2000.

Just WHAT did you guys in North Carolina upset Mother Nature lately???...First the hurricane and long-lasting floods, now this snowstorm! Seems there must be some reprobates living in NC right now?? :>}

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), January 26, 2000.