Havre de Grace Snow: Roads Clear in City, Not County

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD – The city government will be closed in Havre de Grace on Monday, Jan. 25, due to inclement weather. Essential employees should report as scheduled.

Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin said Sunday that 98 percent of the roads in the city were passable.

While city residents reported their streets had been plowed, many county and state roads have a ways to go after more than 2 feet of snow fell over the weekend.

Emergency Manager Rick Ayers said 52 of county roads had at least one pass with the plow by Sunday night, and it would take two days to get to all.

To that end, Harford County schools and government offices will be closed Monday, with state government closed as well.

At a Sunday press conference, State Highways Director Gregory C. Johnson said he expects crews to have interstates and other main highways cleared of snow by Monday morning. Secondary and local roads will still be covered by snow.

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• Closing Update from Harford County Public Schools

“I want to thank the citizens of Maryland for heeding our call to be patient and to be safe by staying off the roads,” Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday. “[Monday] morning conditions will be icy and dangerous. By closing state offices tomorrow, crews can carry on with their work to clear state roads.”

Hogan said the state will seek federal disaster relief to help recoup the recovery costs of Maryland’s biggest ever snowfall.

Photo Credit: Havre de Grace Tourism.

Jan. 24th Weather Update from Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin

Citizens of Havre de Grace,

The Blizzard of 2016 has dumped more snow on our city than any other storm in recorded history. With that said, I have had the opportunity to drive around our city and witness firsthand just how great our citizenry is handling this adversity. As I predicted, I saw friends helping friends, neighbors helping neighbors, and in general, folks using smart judgment and staying off the roads as much as possible.

Just a few notes as we head into the clean-up phase:
– We have 98% of the roads passable and drivable at the time of this post.
– Our first priority is to make sure that all roads are passable. We will then concentrate on widening of roads and expansion of intersections.
– Once all roads are squared away, plow crews will begin removing snow from the business district no later than Mondaymorning.
– City Code mandates that citizens are responsible for clearing sidewalks. With that said, I ask that you do your best. I understand that you may have 6 foot snow drifts on your sidewalks and I do not want to see anyone hurt themselves trying to remove the snow. I will not have citations written in regards to this storm. However, please know that when school starts up again, children will be walking on the streets if they cannot use the sidewalks. Please do your best and use your judgment.
– Finally, I would like to commend the men and women of the Havre de Grace DPW Department for their around the clock efforts to keep our roads passable. They have been at it since Friday night. They will continue working Sunday until6:00pm. I am sending them home to rest and they will be back at it Monday morning early.

Again, the citizens of Havre de Grace have exhibited once again that we handle adversity like a champ. Working together, we will get through this as we always do.

Be safe,

William T. Martin, Mayor

Message from Harford Emergency Manager Rick Ayers on Jan. 24; 6 p.m.

Good Evening this is Emergency Manager Rick Ayers. Our Harford County crews have been on the road all day today concentrating their efforts on reopening the County’s Emergency and Primary routes.

Some areas of the county received more than 30 inches of snow overall in this historic blizzard.

Please remember two things:

1) There are 1,000+ miles of County roadways and over 1,200 cul-de-sacs. As of now, approximately 52 percent of the roads have had one pass from a snow plow. And it will take at least two full days to get to them all.

2) Please understand that driveways will get plowed in, which is an unavoidable consequence of moving snow off the roads. We apologize in advance and appreciate your understanding.

Thanks & Be Safe