Governor Martin O’Malley praised state and local road crews, emergency responders and members of the Maryland National Guard for their round-the-clock efforts during the two historic snow storms during this past week. The two storms combined dumped as much as 50 inches of snow in some parts of the state.
“For nearly one solid week, thousands of men and women in Maryland stepped forward to help their fellow citizens get through this historic weather event,” said Governor O’Malley. “Road crews worked with very little sleep to continuously plow our roads in conditions they had never seen before. Emergency responders and the Maryland National Guard braved deep snow and blizzard conditions to rescue stranded motorists, deliver supplies and get those in need of medical care to area hospitals. No matter how bad things got, they never gave up. These are the true heroes of the ‘Blizzard of 2010’ and Maryland is very proud of each and every one of them.”
Recovery from the double dose of winter weather picked up momentum once the snow stopped. State road crews will continue to plow the interstates and major highways with the goal of reclaiming lanes for traffic as soon as possible. However, it will take several days to get down to bare pavement on roads throughout the state. It could take several weeks to totally remove the piles of snow that have been plowed to the side of the road. Local jurisdictions also will be working on county and municipal roads and residential streets. Governments across the state face a huge challenge in removing this massive amount of snow.
“Despite the tireless work of road crews and the best efforts of local elected officials to manage snow removal efforts, citizens need to appreciate the magnitude of this storm and how challenging it will be to remove this much snow,” added Governor O’Malley. “This is not your basic Maryland snowfall of five to seven inches followed by a return to bare pavement in less than 24 hours. This will take time, both at the state and local level. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our citizens as all of us work as hard and as fast as we can to recover.”