Turnpike closed between Breezewood and New Stanton
In this photo provided by Dave Saba, traffic is at a standstill on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Somerset, Pa., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016. The Duquesne men’s basketball team and Temple University’s women’s gymnastics team are stuck on the Turnpike due to treacherous weather conditions. A mammoth winter storm crawled up the U.S. East Coast on Saturday, making roads impassable, shutting down mass transit, and bringing Washington and New York City to a standstill. (Dave Saba via AP)
(Highspire) — The Turnpike has closed the toll road in both directions between Breezewood Interchange (Exit #161) and New Stanton Interchange (Exit #75).
The move is due to the ongoing storm and to assist in rescuing motorists who have been stranded overnight.
It allows additional maintenance personnel from three different locations to assist efforts to help those stuck for hours on the roadway.
State police, local fire and rescue units and the PA National Guard are working at the scene.
Among those stranded are members of the Temple University women’s gymnastics team and the Duquesne men’s basketball team.
The westbound motorists became stranded sometime between 8:30 p.m. and midnight yesterday behind several jackknifed tractor trailers on the eastern slope of the mountain approaching the Allegheny Tunnel around milepost 123 between Somerset (Exit #110) and Bedford (Exit #146).
Emergency crews have been walking through the backlog of traffic to attend to any medical situations and bring fuel and rations to some drivers.
The PA Turnpike has also banned all commercial vehicles between New Stanton Interchange (Exit #75) and the Delaware River Bridge (Exit #359) and the on the Northeastern Extension (I-476) between the Mid County Interchange (Exit #20) to the Pocono Interchange (Exit #95).
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