GREENFIELD — Tuesday’s winter storm coated roadways with a few inches of snow, creating slippery driving conditions throughout the day and turning to freezing rain as the day wore on.
At 11 a.m., the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory in effect until 3 a.m. Wednesday, calling for “snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches” and “around a tenth of an inch of ice.” Across the county, schools were closed and public meetings canceled.
Just before 11:30 a.m., at the height of the storm, Greenfield-Montague traffic was further delayed when a tractor-trailer truck got stuck under the 11-foot 6-inch high railroad overpass near 10 Montague City Road, while traveling north and uphill from Greenfield.
Immediately, emergency crews closed the road, giving a PanAm inspector a chance to check the bridge’s structural integrity, and a heavy duty wrecker time to remove the truck.
Greenfield Police Sgt. Stephen Westerling said the bridge sustained minor damage. No one was hurt, but the truck’s trailer was badly damaged.
“He came right straight through,” said Roger Weston, a neighbor who saw the accident happen. Weston noted that despite signs displaying the bridge’s height on both sides, “this happens once a week.”
Because of the road’s closure, traffic into Greenfield diverted up Mountain Road. As a result, a few cars couldn’t make it and slid off the road.
Elsewhere, just before noon, Whately fire and police departments were called to a rollover accident on Interstate 91 north.
Later, as of around 1 p.m., Greenfield Police Lt. William R. Gordon said the department responded to a few small accidents, but nothing substantial. Deerfield Police Department also reported no accidents, as did Orange and Northfield.
Several departments also responded to I-91 north later in the afternoon for a car that left the road and ended up down a small embankment.