Thursday’s winter weather made things slippery, and Friday’s morning commute could be challenging, too.
As a winter storm brought ice, snow and rain to New England, crashes were reported across the region during morning commuting hours on Thursday, and more travel problems are expected into the night as dropping temperatures cause icing on the roads.
Due to the storm, a 40 mph speed restriction was put into place on the Massachusetts Turnpike from the New York border to Boston for many of the morning hours. The speed restriction was lifted from the New York border to Palmer at around 11:45 a.m., but remained in place on the rest of the highway to Boston.
The state's department of transportation said that it had around 840 pieces of equipment deployed to deal with the ice storm as of around 4 p.m.
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By Thursday afternoon roads were icy in the Worcester Hills, with more freezing rain expected later.
There were already a number of crashes being reported before 5 a.m. on major highways in communities like Milton, Randolph and Dedham.
At around 6:15 a.m., a spinout crash was causing delays on Copeland Circle in Revere, Massachusetts.
By around 6:30 a.m., there were several more crashes being reported, including on I-495 South in Haverhill, 213 West in Methuen, Route 1 North in Saugus and at least two crashes on the Mass. Pike — one in Westboro and one in Millbury.
MassDOT said just after 7 a.m. that a jackknifed tractor-trailer in Chelmsford on I-495 South caused the center and left lanes to be closed near Exit 87. Both lanes have since reopened.
Massachusetts troopers were on scene of a crash on the Mass. Pike in Wayland around 8:30 a.m., where an SUV was seen with frontal damage and on the side of the road.
In New Hampshire, state police said at around 6 a.m. that they had responded to around 30 vehicles off the road and crashes since 11 p.m. Wednesday night. Authorities there urged drivers to reduce their speed, leave extra space between the car ahead of them and drive according to current conditions.
In Westborough, an oil truck rolled over on Eli Whitney Street. The driver refused to be transported. Roadways were closed to offload the oil and upright the truck.
Two school buses were involved in a multiple vehicle accident on Rt. 3 in Tyngsborough. No children on the buses were injured in the accident. Significant delays northbound on Rt. 3.
The MBTA Commuter Rail warned passengers to use care on platforms while boarding trains Thursday, because of the ice.
