50949_WKBW_7_Problem_Solvers_658x90.png

Actions

Truckers spend night at truck stop

Posted at 11:32 PM, Dec 10, 2014
and last updated 2015-12-05 23:32:25-05

Pembroke's truck stops were filled to capacity Wednesday night, with many truck drivers forced to stay in the area following the travel ban on the New York State Thruway.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday evening that the thruway would be closed to tractor trailers from the Batavia exit (Exit 48) to the Rome exit (Exit 32).  The travel back remained in effect until 6:00 a.m. Thursday.

"I figured well, I better make arrangements,: said truck driver Jack Spina, who was on his way from Minnesota to Syracuse. "So I called the TA truck stop here, made sure there was a parking spot, and here I am."

Spina wasn't alone. Dozens of truckers waited out the ban before continuing their deliveries.

Others took alternate routes, getting off I-90 in Batavia and driving along county roads to their destinations.

"All the truckers that come into my business have been trying to get out as quickly as possible so they can get in before it gets too bad tonight," said Jared Firestone, who works at a local farming equipment company.

Still others either ignored the travel ban or weren't aware of it. The trucks weren't being stopped getting on I-90, so many of them still headed down the thruway in the direction of the ban.

Spina says after all the time he's spent on the road, that kind of risk isn't worth it to him.

"I've been out here 37 years and I just made the choice that the product isn't worth sitting along the road or upside down," he explained.