Roads still covered in ice days after weekend storm
Snow and freezing rain from the weekend left many areas covered in thick layers of ice. While most main roads were treated and cleared, side streets can still be seen with ice half an inch thick. One long-time Chicopee resident told 22News this is the worst she's seen it.
'This is the first time I'd like to say that this is ever happened to this degree. we're all dealing with slippery stuff right now. We're all dealing with sidewalks and you know it's difficult,' said Nancy LaPierre.
We sat down with Chicopee Mayor John Vieau and asked why the roads weren't treated beforehand. He said it was due to the salt shortage.
'That salt shortage is real. We've been driving to Albany all weekend to That we've been waiting for for almost a month. That's all finally some of it came in today. We're very fortunate to receive 40 tons of the good stuff,' said Mayor Vieau.
Early snow during the weekend clogged many drains on side streets here in Western Massachusetts and the rain afterward was only left to stay in the middle of the road and with freezing overnight temperatures well through the week the ice could be here to stay.
The salt shortage can be felt at the commercial and retail level, with many stores selling out of salt and ice melt. Mayor Vieau said the DPW is working to get to ice-coated side streets, but people need to be patient.
'Right now ideally, they're trying to do as many side roads as they can and I ask people to be patient and to please be safe. I know that the conditions are not optimal but if you have to go somewhere, just be really careful,' said Mayor Vieau.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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