Camden County Preparing for Early Start to Pave Way for Morning Commute

The Camden County Department of Public Works will hit the roads early Monday morning to prepare roads for the morning commute as the coming storm threatens to dump up to two feet of snow on South Jersey.

“Each time we are expecting conditions that will impact the morning commute, the Freeholder Board’s Department of Public Works (DPW) sets out to treat 1,200 lane miles of county roadway from the Pine Barrens to the Delaware River,” Camden County Freeholder Ian Leonard, liaison to the Camden County DPW, said. “This is an all hands on deck winter storm event, and we will have crews dispatched county-wide to keep roadways passable.”

As of Sunday evening, the NWS was predicting accumulation of 14-24 inches of snow from an impending storm.

The Nor’easter is expected to start as light snow between 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday and then ramp up during the day and into the night before finally ending on Tuesday, according the National Weather Service.

The NWS has issued a Winter Storm Watch for South Jersey for Monday night through Tuesday morning.

Winds of 10-15 mph with wind gusts up to 20 mph are expected on Monday, followed by winds of 15-25 mph with wind gusts up to 30 mph Monday night into Tuesday.

“We are expecting hazardous conditions for the morning commute. We ask everyone to exercise extra caution while driving and give yourself extra time to reach your destination,” Leonard said. “We will continue to track this storm system until it clears our region Tuesday evening and respond accordingly.”
At the Camden County Public Works Complex in Lindenwold, more than 70 pieces of equipment are always ready to be rapidly deployed anywhere in the County.

The DPW’s preparation to address a winter storm starts days before the first snowflake falls. Crews are constantly monitoring the latest weather reports.
The County is divided into 12 winter maintenance districts. When the weather becomes treacherous, County personnel are dispatched by district to apply brine, spread salt and plow roadways.

The DPW’s response plan calls for crews to be dispatched only to the zones where they are needed. When the weather warrants, this quickly becomes a full-scale operation with all equipment and manpower mobilized to clear roads and make sure Camden County is not left in a deep freeze.
In the event that the weather causes isolated power outages during these snow events, please remember to immediately call your utility company so they can identify the location and coordinate crews to restore your power. Below are numbers and contact info for the two power providers in Camden County:


* PSE&G: 1-800-436-PSEG (7734)
* PSEG website: http://pseg.com/home/customer_service/outage_info/index.jsp
* Atlantic City Electric: 1-800-833-7476
* Atlantic City Electric website: http://www.atlanticcityelectric.com/home/
* South Jersey Gas: 1-800-582-7060
* South Jersey Gas website: http://southjerseygas.com/

As always, please use 911 for emergencies only. If you see a problem on a county road, please call our 24 hour hotline at (856) 566-2980 to report it to the Camden County DPW.