MassDOT issues travel advisory ahead of messy weekend weather

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is advising the public that the National Weather Service is predicting that snow will develop across the state from west to east on Saturday afternoon. Snowfall is expected to be heaviest across the northwestern part of the state, where several inches are possible. The snow will then mix with sleet, and is forecasted to change to all rain across the southwestern region. The precipitation is expected to end early Sunday morning.

“Everyone traveling should monitor the forecast and expect to travel at slower speeds when the snow is falling,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “We advise people to drive the conditions during the storm which means keeping a safe distance behind other vehicles and allowing for plenty of time to slow down and reducing speeds when making turns or traveling on highway on and off ramps.”

Southeastern Massachusetts and southern Rhode Island are both under a Winter Weather Advisory from 4:00 p.m. today until 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

MassDOT Highway Districts always conduct preparation activities in advance of new weather systems and pretreat roadways with brine and Magnesium Chloride when necessary. In the most severe storms, MassDOT’s Highway Division utilizes up to 700 personnel to perform snow and ice removal operations on more than 15,000 lane miles of roadway throughout the Commonwealth. This winter, MassDOT will have approximately 3,900 pieces of state and vendor equipment available throughout the duration of winter storms using over 150 depots and storage locations. This includes over 1,400 plow and spreader combos, 2,100 plows, and 460 front-end loaders.