Snow Way

My house is located off the main highways and as a result the nearby roads are less likely to be treated as quickly as Route 30, Route 31, or Route 711. The snowfall is the same as the main roads, but because there is a little less maintenance, coupled with the fact that the wind causes drifting snow to cover the road more rapidly, I have on several occasions been snowed in and unable to travel.

The minor “snowed in” times were when snow plows would deposit the drifting snow from the road just above my house and fill my driveway. Sometimes, they would push three feet of packed snow into the end of my drive. I don’t have a four-wheel drive vehicle and to escape, I have to use sweat, work, and muscle to unclog my drive.

But what I really want to talk about are the times when the snow plows themselves get stuck and are unable to keep the roadway open. There have been many times it has been a close call, only having one lane open, but there were at least twice my family and I were cut off from civilization, unable to get out, even in an emergency.

Between my house and Route 31, there are several open fields at the top of knolls. Yearly, they manage to fill with some of higher drifting snow. I can recall a time that a snow plow actually got stuck and the second came to pull it out. They both became trapped in the packed drift. The Penn Dot management finally sent a huge vehicle with a fan-like snow blower on the front to free the trucks.

Another year after working the 11-7 shift, I was able to make it home with my bumper pushing drifts much of the way. I parked my car on the road at the end of my drive until I could open the drift that barred my entrance. That was on a Saturday morning. By 10 AM Saturday morning, there was no more traffic on the road; nothing. Although the wind continued to fill my drive with drifts, I didn’t shovel. There was no use with no place to go. I felt very fortunate that the electricity stayed on. Between the wood burner and the oil furnace, we were able to stay warm. Sunday evening at 10 PM, the road was finally opened by a tractor with a large scoop bucket. It lifted the snow and dropped it to the side of the road.