I-93 in NH Temporarily Shut Down, Slick Road Conditions Lead to 100+ Crashes

Authorities are urging drivers to use caution Tuesday

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As this week's nor'easter moves through the region, wintry conditions were creating tough driving conditions across New England.

Crashes and other incidents were being reported in communities across the region. Downed trees caused traffic impacts in Pittsfield, Fitchburg and New Ashford, while a downed utility pole led to a road closure on Route 2 in North Adams.

New Hampshire State Police said around noon that troopers in the Granite State had already responded to over 120 weather-related calls since 5 a.m., including crashes and vehicles going off the road. Interstate 93 was temporarily closed in both directions in Londonderry on Tuesday afternoon after a tractor-trailer clipped low-hanging electrical wires, bringing them down. A second tractor-trailer hit the wires and got stuck. The highway reopened around 2 p.m. No one was hurt.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said that it had 613 pieces of equipment deployed for the storm. MassDOT also announced a 40 mph speed restriction Tuesday morning on the Massachusetts Turnpike from the New York state line to Millbury.

Fire officials in the small town of Hubbardston, Massachusetts, called conditions at around 7:30 a.m. "extremely dangerous," saying crews had already responded to numerous crashes and downed wires.

Meanwhile, due to the storm, the HOV lane on I-93 and the Sumner Tunnel swing lane will not be deployed Tuesday.

The MBTA, amid unrelated speed restrictions impacting many stretches of its rapid transit lines, has canceled all Charlestown and Hingham/Hull ferry service due to the forecasted high winds. Shuttle buses will be replacing service along the Mattapan Trolley on Tuesday, too.

NBC10 Boston's Alysha Palumbo reported slick driving conditions, low visibility and wet snow falling in Worcester County at around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Although unclear if they were related to the weather, MassDOT released information about two crashes that happened during the overnight hours. In Warren, a small town in western Worcester County, there was a tractor trailer crash on the Mass. Pike, which shut down the left travel lane heading east.

In Blandford, at around 2 a.m., crews were working to remove another truck following a crash there. That wreck, which has since been cleared, closed down all eastbound lanes, resulting in traffic being diverted at Exit 10 for a period of time.

In Vermont, I-91 south was closed in the Brattleboro area due to the road conditions, and traffic was diverted off Exit 3. The highway has since been reopened.

There were several crashes later in the morning in the Boston area, including a multi-car wreck on 128 in Peabody, a spinout on I-495 in Chelmsford and a crash on I-93 in Wilmington. A spin-out was blocking the left lane of the Mass Pike eastbound in Framingham.

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