Snow storm causes chaos on roads

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- The snow storm is leaving a sloppy mess and has made driving tough over much of the state tonight.

It was like mother nature just flipped a switch. I-95 went from 65 mph to a crawl as the wind drove icy snow sideways to near white out conditions in Fairfield.

"The roads are real slippery. A lot of people are sliding off the road," said Jim Hind of New Jersey.

"So you are seeing some spin outs," asked News 8's Bob Wilson.

"Yes, but not as many as I would have thought because we are going too slow," Hind said.

In New Haven the snow built up quickly on the side roads slowing the bus service. On the highways it was an icy, slushy, wet mix that was not easy to plow.

The roads were pre-sprayed with a solution, helping early on but the speed which the storm hit had crews scrambling and bringing in the heavy equipment.

"We have one truck with a big pusher on each side and a truck with a plow too with a couple sanders along with three guys so we are ready to roll," said Paul Roxo a plow driver.

In New Haven the highway is slow but in town traffic is moving. The towns are taking this storm seriously. News 8 saw several plows on State Street pushing back the snow but up on the highway there is a lot of post holiday traffic and people will just have to go slow.

"I have gone 45 miles in three hours to pick up a puppy in New York and I am just ready to get back to Rhode Island," said Mike Neves of Rhode Island.

"So it's been brutal," asked News 8's Wilson.

"Oh yeah, I am going crazy. This 3 hours in the car has not been fun," Neves said.

As the storm moved through the southern part of the state, the snow turned to ice, turned to rain and kept drivers guessing as to what was next. The bottom line, drivers had to be prepared for anything.

"It's terrible, slippery and just stop and go," said Bill Hatch of Rhode Island.