State disputes claim it wasn’t ready for storm

Some blamed the Department of Transportation for the dangerous road conditions during Thursday’s storm that left scores of motorists stuck in snow or brutal traffic jams.

But the agency disputed the suggestion that it wasn’t prepared.

While critics claimed critical roads were not treated and that staffing cuts have hurt efficiency, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said the state stuck to its pretreatment plan, targeting problematic areas and supplemented any staff deficiencies with independent contractors.

The real problem with Thursday’s storm was its timing, Nursick said.

“Chief among our concerns was the fact that this storm was going to hit during rush hour traffic,” he said. “The timing of day for these winter weather events is the most critical factor of whether the DOT looks like heroes or something else.”

State Police said they responded to 1,341 snowrelated calls for service, 230 of which were accidents. Of those, one on Interstate 95 in Milford caused the death of 24year-old Florida resident Alfredo Lopez-Marrero, while 10 other crashes yielded minor injuries and two led to serious injuries.

At the peak of rush hour, around 5:15 p.m. Thursday, northbound lanes of the Merritt Parkway in Stamford were shut down between Exits 35 and 36 because of “many motor vehicle accidents and disabled vehicles,” the DOT said. That closure lasted for several hours.

Nursick said heavy rush-hour snow led to traffic jams and accidents, which in themselves prevented state plows from clearing highways and critical roads.

“All it takes is a spin-out here and a disabled vehicle there, and all of a sudden you have these gridlocks that make the plow’s jobs that much harder,” Nursick said.

And as drivers sat in heavy traffic, snow piled up around them at a faster rate than meteorologists had anticipated. Early forecasts said the most impacted area would be Danbury, with 6 inches of snowfall. Instead, the city got just under 8 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton took to Twitter to let his residents know the city was working to get roads clear, disputing some claims that the city wasn’t ready for it.

“The city seems very poorly prepared for this storm,” tweeted Danbury resident Michael Dvornek. “I saw zero plows out. My car was hit twice on my way home from work. Incredibly dangerous.”

“We were ready,” Boughton fired back. “All plows are out. If you’re stuck in traffic (we had traffic jams all over the city) so are our plows.”

New Fairfield got the most snow in Fairfield County at 10.9 inches, followed by Newtown at 8.2 inches. Along the coast, less snow accumulated, leaving Norwalk with 6 inches, Greenwich with 4, Stamford with 3.8 inches and Bridgeport with around 2.

On Friday, dozens of schools in Connecticut had delayed openings, and some canceled classes entirely. And Connecticut wasn’t the only state smacked hard by the storm

New York City’s streets were flooded with stranded motorists stuck in about 6 inches of snow. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the state’s response to the storm unacceptable.

In nearby New Jersey, there were traffic delays of several hours.

“It took me 5 hours and 50 minutes to travel from Piscataway to Mendham,” said a tweet from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The drive is typically about 40 minutes.

New Jersey’s current governor, Phil Murphy, said officials tracked roadways nonstop while snow fell. On Friday, he pointed the blame at weather forecasts for underestimating the seriousness of the storm.