NEWS |
172-98: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , December 28, 1998
--> the VAMMAS PSB 5500H, a high-speed snow plow, snow blower and snow sweeper originally developed to fight the fierce winters in Finland. The VAMMAS vehicle, which combines a 28-foot plow and a 23-foot snow broom, can do work that once required three machines and three operators;
--> more than 100 other pieces of heavy snow equipment at the airports, including blowers that can move 3,000 tons of snow an hour, melters that can liquefy up to 500 tons an hour, and high-speed plows that can clear snow at 40 miles per hour;
--> 1,900 tons of salt and 1,900 tons of sand for airport roads and parking lots - plus another 1,360 tons of salt for the Port Authority's bridges and tunnels, some of it piled 25 feet high;
--> more than 130,000 gallons of liquid anti-icer chemicals at the airports, which prevent snow and ice from bonding to runways and taxiways, plus 230 tons of solid deicers, which break up ice and snow already on the ground;
--> more than 60 pieces of snow equipment at the bridges and tunnels - including 13 trucks equipped with plows and spreaders at the George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest bridge; and
--> two trucks with plows attached that can ride on railways. During blizzards, PATH can connect these trucks to rail cars and plow snow from rail lines.
"Our troops are ready, our equipment is ready, and our supply depots are full," said Port Authority Executive Director Robert E. Boyle. "We are prepared to keep our roads, runways and railways clear, to maintain safety and to make sure the hundreds of thousands of customers who rely on us every day are comfortable, and get where they need to go without delay."
At John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports, crews will deploy snow melters atop the main parking decks, to ensure enough parking is available during and after snowstorms.
And at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark International airports, workers will hand out windshield ice scrapers to returning motorists during snowstorms.
Hundreds of specially trained employees are ready to respond to winter storms. Crews recently completed refresher training, and all equipment has been prepped.
The airports, bridges, tunnels and PATH have "snow desks" where key personnel analyze weather reports and deploy staff and equipment. The number of employees deployed during a storm depends on its severity: only a handful for a minor storm; every facility employee when a blizzard strikes. During the most severe storms, Port Authority employees work around the clock in 12-hour shifts.
Port Authority employees are also ready to help stranded motorists during storms. If your car is snowed in or won't start at JFK, Newark or LaGuardia airports, just look for the conveniently placed emergency phones in each parking lot and follow the instructions on the inside panel. Airport employees will rescue you and your vehicle. If you have a cellular phone, you can call the following numbers for assistance: at JFK, 718.656.1272; at LaGuardia, 718.533.3700; at Newark, 973.961.4755.
Also, Port Authority tunnel and bridge agents patrol around the clock, and are ready to help motorists.
For PATH service and schedule updates, call 800.234.PATH (7284).
Port Authority airports carefully track the weather year-round, supplementing National Weather Service reports with forecasts from private companies. These facility-specific private forecasts are updated several times a day.
Each airport also has in-ground sensors at strategic locations on airfields. These sensors transmit valuable data to airport operators - including air and ground temperature, wind speed and direction, and type of precipitation on the ground.
For the second winter, weather watchers at LaGuardia Airport will have the foresight of an experimental tracking system that reliably gives the airport a half-hour heads-up on the timing, moisture and intensity of a snowstorm. The advanced warning allows the airport to deploy crews and equipment most efficiently. If the system predicts a break in a storm, crews will have time to repair and refuel their equipment.
As part of the Port Authority's commitment to protect the environment, the airports are phasing out the use of anti-icers and deicers that contain urea - a synthesis of ammonia and carbon dioxide - and replacing them with safer chemicals. Managers of the Port Authority's bridges and tunnels also are looking at alternatives to rock salt, which is widely used to melt snow.
The three airports have budgeted $12.4 million for snow removal in 1999. The Port Authority's bridges and tunnels have budgeted $1.7 million for snow operations.
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