New Hampshire

Ice Causes Dozens of Crashes, Road Closures

Overnight freezing rain across the region has led to dozens of car crashes across the region and calls by police to proceed carefully. 

The icy roadways have left emergency workers scrambling across the area and advising drivers to proceed cautiously. 

Jonathan Gulliver, a MassDOT Highway Administrator, says crews are struggling to keep the roads in good condition.

"When you have conditions like this what happens is that you can't put down the de-icing materials fast enough," he said. "Those materials get used up quickly and get washed away because road temperatures are so cold. Any rain that does fall can really freeze over really fast."

Massachusetts State Police reduced speeds to 25 mph in the Route 95 area around Canton, Norwood, Walpole, and Sharon. In a tweet just before 10 a.m., state police said the roadway continues to freeze as Massachusetts Department of Transportation crews continue to salt the roadway.

In other developments on Saturday:

  • Massachusetts State Police had to temporarily shut down Interstate 95 southbound near Exit 8 to the Interstate 93 split following nearly 30 reports of car spin-outs. The highway has since reopened.
  • Officials in Weston reported minor injuries after a car overturned on Route 30 just east of Wellesley Street. Another crash was reported in Weston on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
  • In Lowell, utility crews were working to repair a utility pole that fell following a crash on Mammoth Road.
  • Crashes were also reported in numerous additional towns and cities including Brockton, Waltham, Bolton, and Hopkinton.
  • The speed limit on the Mass Pike was reduced to 40 mph from exit 11 in Millbury to New York, east and west.

In other parts of New England, multiple crashes led officials in Maine to shut down part of the Maine Turnpike near Exit 3.

Officials in Connecticut responded to a crash involving a snow plow and a car on Interstate 84 eastbound near exit 73. No one was injured. Another crash involving a plow was also reported in Ossippee, New Hampshire.

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