RI Travel Ban Lifted at 8 p.m. Tuesday

The statewide travel ban that has kept Rhode Islanders ”hunkered down” for more than a day will be lifted at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Governor Gina Raimondo has announced.

Despite the lifting of the ban, Raimondo said at a storm press conference just before 5 p.m. at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Cranston that everyone should refrain from going out tonight.

“If you don’t absolutely have to go out, please do not go out,” Raimondo said. “I know everyone is itchy. I know everyone is looking outside and seeing the plows and think it’s safe. It’s not safe.

“Every hour you give those crews to continue to clean up makes a world of difference.”

The storm, which brought 20 or more inches of snow to the entire state, has kept hundreds of plow drivers, state and municipal workers extremely busy since Monday afternoon alongside the Rhode Island National Guard, the Rhode Island State Police and local police and fire departments, Raimondo said.

“I have been impressed at every turn by the men and women” working through the storm, Raimondo said. “We are almost through this and going to come through this with minimal damage and minimal risk and that’s in large part because of the hard working men and women in this amazing team behind me.”

Residents who do go out are advised to drive carefully.

“Speed kills,” the Governor repeated.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 17 National Guard and state Department of Transportation crews were working on cleanup of state roads with a focus on intersections and onramps, Raimondo said.

Despite warnings that massive power outages could cripple residents for days on end, just four Rhode Island households were without electricity as of Tuesday evening.

The Governor said the National Grid crews who have been working to restore power to the nearly 1,000 households affected during the storm deserve praise for such a low number of outages.

The state remains in adverse weather operations, which means staffing is limited at state offices. Full operation is expected to resume as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Snow has continued to fall late into Tuesday, though the winds have died down and people have begun to shovel out. Towns and cities across Rhode Island have cancelled meetings and schools Wednesday. Many businesses remain closed as well.

Check a complete listing of closings and cancellations HERE.