Governor Lifts Rhode Island Travel Ban at 8 p.m.

Twitter: @markcurtisABC6  

The travel ban for cars and trucks in Rhode Island expires at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The Governor says it will still be very dangerous outside, and she is urging people to stay home, if they do not have to be out. Earlier in the day, the media and Governor toured the state to see how plowing operations were going at the height of the storm.

 While the travel ban was still in effect, crews traveled through Cranston and Warwick. At mid-morning, many highways and roads were nearly impassable, with drifting on ramps particularly bad. Governor Raimondo hopped in a state snow plow, for a ground level assessment of the blizzard.

Gov. Gina Raimondo, (D) Rhode Island, said at 10 a.m., “It is very gusty, there is no visibility. It’s not safe to be driving. That’s why I want everybody hunkered down, Where ever you are now, stay there until further notice. Give us time to plow these streets, and have consideration for the safety of the people that are plowing.”

In the early stages, it was primarily a plowing operation, with salting and sanding to come later.

Mark Curtis, ABC6 Chief Political Reporter said, “At the height of the storm, visibility was down to nearly zero, in white out conditions.”

Very few non-essential vehicles were out on the roads, with hardly any major violations reported by RI State Police. The Governor credits people in Rhode Island for cooperating with a travel ban that went into effect midnight Monday.

Gov. Gina Raimondo said at 11:40 a.m., “I just have to say another big thank you to all of the people who’ve been working. We have had hundreds of people out, awake, all night, National Grid teams have been out, DOT Crews have been out.”

Governor Raimondo has been in office just three weeks, and the blizzard of 2015 is the first major test of her leadership. Again, she lifted the travel ban as of 8 p.m.