The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) are temporarily reducing speed limits to 45 mph and restricting operation for certain types of vehicles on some roadways in the southeastern part of the state due to the high winds and heavy rains generated by Hurricane Sandy.
PennDOT is said speeds are being reduced on the following highways to 45 mph:
- Interstate 76 in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties;
- Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, Bucks and Delaware counties;
- Interstate 476 in Delaware and Montgomery counties;
- Interstate 676 in Philadelphia;
- Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties;
- U.S. Route 1 Extension in Philadelphia;
- U.S. Route 1 in Bucks, Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester counties;
- U.S. Route 30 Bypass in Chester County;
- Route 63 (Woodhaven Expressway) in Philadelphia;
- U.S. Route 202 in Chester County;
- Route 309 in Bucks and Montgomery counties;
- U.S. Route 422 in Montgomery County; and
- Route 611 Bypass in Bucks County
Also, in conjunction with similar restrictions imposed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, several these types of vehicles – mainly different types of commercial trucks – will be prohibited from traveling on speed-restricted roadways:
- Class 9 vehicles (overweight and over-dimensional trucks);
- Empty straight trucks;
- Large Combination Vehicles (tandem trailers and doubles);
- Tractors hauling empty trailers;
- Trailers pulled by passenger vehicles;
- Motorcycles; and
- Recreational Vehicles, or RVs
PennDOT and the PTC added that those restrictions may be expanded to other roadways across the state depending on the progression of the hurricane. Vehicles in these classifications should pull over to a safe area and wait for the restriction to be lifted, those agencies stressed.
