HamdenPro:
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On this day in History
February 5, Blizzard of ’78
Route 95 in Downtown Providence, RI
The On Ramps to Route 95.
Route 195 in East Providence, RI.
Downtown Providence RI "total gridlock".
In the morning of February 5, there was no snow at all. Everyone went to work as if it was a regular work day. By 10 am, there was heavy snow starting to stick on the ground, by 11 am, cars could not make it out of the parking lot. 3 or 4 men helped push the cars out onto the street. Working in Pawtucket RI, the entrance to route 95 was only 1/4 mile away, and luckily, if you drove carefully and slowly, you could make headway.
I was able to make it through Providence going to Warwick by following a plow salting the freeway. Got home in Warwick by 3 pm (usually a 1 hour trip). My puppy was safe and yes there was no way I was not getting home to him.
Many workers were not free to go home until mid afternoon when Governor Garrahy declared a state of emergency, then the whole rest of the business' in RI let their workers out. From that point on, the state was stuck. People stayed in their cars for days. 21 people died, many of these had heart attacks and rescue vehicles could not get to them.
Thousands had to stay in any shelter or building they could find. The Providence Civic Center took many stranded motorists in for the night...then for days.
The power went off at about 5pm the first night and did not come back on for 3 days.
Behind my house was the state airport with an access road between me and the airport itself. The access road, usually a short-cut to Main Avenue, had about 100 cars stuck in the 3 feet of snow. A few actually stayed in their cars for days. Many abandoned their cars and walked home.
Eventually, the government sent a super-sized plane with plows and troops to assist in "shoveling the state out."
Many Rhode Islanders think back to this time and remember happy things, as do I, now. But I also remember how concerned I was worrying about dad, who went to work that day. He made it home safe, but I didn't know that for a week.