Snow Trashes Boston Traffic

Boston and its environs seized up at the first sight of snow yesterday, as an unfortunately timed and unusually intense storm sent thousands of commuters racing from their jobs, virtually in unison, only to endure a gridlock of epic frustration.


The storm did what no commuters could: It arrived exactly on time. Major arteries to the south, west, and north were clogged from just after noon until well after dark, with traffic spilling across city and suburban streets.

 
The mess caused Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to say that state officials seemed unprepared. But state officials countered that they did the best they could, given the rush to the roads.

 
One driver, Lindsay Groff , said it took 45 minutes to traverse a single block in Boston's Back Bay. "I kept sitting behind the light," she said from her car. "It kept turning from red to green to red again."

 
Such stories were all too common in a day when 10 inches fell between 2 and 9 p.m., a record for the date in Boston.

 
Plows were unable to clear roads because by the time the snowfall had become heavy, main arteries were jammed. Rail platforms were overrun by commuters who had ditched their cars, and traffic on interstates slowed to side-street speed.

 
While dozens of vehicles spun out, no major accidents, deaths, or injuries were reported, in large part because people couldn't drive fast enough to get in serious crashes, city and State Police said.

 
"It's the turnpikes and expressways," Menino said at an afternoon press conference. "As one state official said to one of our commissioners, 'We didn't have the equipment to deal with this emergency.' "

 
Menino declined to specify which state official, and Massachusetts officials downplayed Menino's criticism, saying their entire fleet of almost 4,000 plows, salt and sand spreaders, and other vehicles was out clearing roads.

 
"We were fully prepared," said Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky of the Massachusetts Highway Department. "People were leaving at the time the storm was peaking. The state sent people home. . . . It was a challenge for all of us."

 
City officials privately said last night that they were unhappy with both the state's plowing and sanding and the absence of State Police at several key designated city intersections.

 
State Police Lieutenant Barry O'Brien said officials became aware of the mayor's concerns shortly before 9 p.m. and dispatched additional troopers to the city. O'Brien said officers had been delayed getting into Boston because they were helping drivers in crashes elsewhere.

 
"They did their best," O'Brien said of the troopers. "If there's a crash in front of them, they have to deal with the crash."

 
Frank Tramontozzi, the Highway Department's chief engineer, defended the state's plowing efforts.