**This is a message released by The Honorable Mayor Ras J. Baraka regarding Thursday's snowstorm and response by the city's DPW.**
“Last night -Thursday-, Newark and the entire tri-state region was hit with a storm that dropped snow far worse than what forecasters predicted. Our Department of Public Works (DPW) began salting at 10:00 a.m. When the snow started, major roads had been salted, plowing began and our crews began working on our secondary streets using 60 plow and salter units.
“After the heavy snow hit, the major roads in and out of Newark became clogged with traffic as businesses and schools closed early. Newark has four major Federal and State highways that carry nearly all the traffic into and out of our city: Route 280, Route 78, Route 21 and Route 22. These roads became paralyzed with accidents and stalled vehicles causing the state to shut them down.
“Blocked from leaving Newark, cars, buses and trucks were trapped, and unable to move. The result was gridlock that lasted very late into the night with vehicles stuck for hours.
“We sent Newark plows and heavy equipment to help the State open their highways in and around Newark. Meanwhile, because our local roads were gridlocked, City plows were unable to get in and finish their work. Once the State and our DPW were able to open up the highways, traffic began to move slowly. Additionally, our police department manned significant intersections to prevent accidents and rescue stranded motorists. Our DPW and police worked through the night to clear our roads and by morning rush hour, traffic was flowing normally.
“I want to thank our first responders and DPW employees who worked tirelessly for so long to open up our streets and highways, and to prevent harm to residents and commuters.”