Workers at the District 4 office in Lackawanna County are preparing for the upcoming winter season, even after the first major snowfall.

DUNMORE, Pa. — No more snow is falling, but workers at PennDOT’s District 4 office in Dunmore are prepared for when flakes start flying again.

“When people are driving, they only see what’s in front of them, we can see the whole area. So the idea for us is to see what’s happening around and get that information back out to the public so that as they’re driving, they have that information in front of them in real time,” said District 4 Traffic Management Supervisor, Rocco DePietro.

With the first major snow event of the season coming earlier this week, Traffic Management Supervisor for District 4, Rocco DePietro, says crews were able to monitor the 41 cameras, which view interstates, bridges, and roadways across six different counties.

In Lackawanna County, a total of four and a half to five inches of snow fell quickly.

Something that DePietro says can cause an issue for drivers and PennDOT plow crews.

“Normally, if the trucks aren’t on the road, if it’s in the middle of the night, if it’s in the middle of the afternoon when there’s less traffic, the trucks are not impeded, and they can get to where they need to be in less amount of time,” said DePietro. “So when there’s more traffic than normal, more snow than normal, less visibility, all those factors slow the trucks down, and then the snow just doesn’t stop, so it keeps coming, and the problem is we can’t remove it fast enough.”

DePietro says PennDOT’s policy is to make the roads safe and passable.

While it’s preferred that drivers stay off the roads so crews can work, DePietro knows that’s never the case.

But he wants drivers to remember one thing if they choose to go out during a storm.

“Treat the winter weather with the respect it deserves and don’t drive like it’s summertime, said DePietro. “You gotta change your driving tactics when you’re driving in the snow, so that’s probably the biggest thing people should know.”

Maintenance on machines and continued hiring efforts for PennDOT’s seasonal workforce will continue, all while the temperatures continue to drop.