PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Even in a normal year, driving in the greater Philadelphia region can be an adventure. But 2021 was no normal year.
From freak weather situations to tragic accidents, car fires to impromptu canals, KYW Newsradio's traffic team saw it all this year. Here, in their own words, are the most memorable things they saw on the roads in 2021.
Parade floats are unusual to see on the 676 or 95. After the Thanksgiving Day parade, we were treated to views of them on the PennDOT cameras.
What was even more unusual was seeing parade floats on the Girard Point Bridge (95S) going slowly by a car fire. The owner of the vehicle was not having much fun, but he did find us on Twitter. Hope Santa brought him a new car - or at least a fire extinguisher!
An active severe weather season disrupted traffic numerous times this year. One memorable day was the severe flash flooding that stopped the afternoon commute in southeastern Bucks, northeastern Philadelphia and northwestern Burlington counties. Southeastern Bucks County was hit the hardest.
On Monday, July 12, slow-moving thunderstorms dropped around 10 inches of rain in Bristol and Croydon, Pennsylvania. Roads quickly flooded resulting in dozens of water rescues. Motorists were stranded, vehicles were submerged and homes were evacuated. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
Reminder: Do not attempt to drive through flooded roads. It only takes one foot of standing water to float a small vehicle. "Turn around, don't drown."
In another instance, canoes became the vehicle of choice for some residents in Chester County. Flash flooding blocked traffic in Caln Township on Tuesday, June 8. Heavy rain overflowed creeks and flooded roads during the afternoon commute, jamming up traffic on the Rt. 30 bypass, Business Rt. 30 and Rt. 322. Vehicles were stranded from the high flood waters.
After the rain ended, the waters quickly receded and left a muddy mess to clean up.
I also wanted to share a weather beauty shot, because it just looks cool! Traffic cameras are not just for looking at traffic. They are great for monitoring the weather to get ground truth. The Route 1 and Route 40 traffic cam in New Castle County, Delaware caught this intense rain shaft during the afternoon commute on Monday, Aug. 23. Traffic and weather, together.
There was a freak black ice event on Roosevelt Boulevard on Tuesday, Nov. 16. An overnight construction crew sprayed down the road with water to clean up. The section of road is elevated and the temperature dropped to near freezing, which caused ice to form all over the road.
This caused a 15-to-18-vehicle chain reaction pile-up, southbound past Broad Street. The road was blocked for a good part of the morning commute.
Finally, there was the neverending overnight construction crew on I-95 in Delaware County. Typically, overnight work crews on I-95 in Delco wrap up by around 5 a.m. On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 17, though, the crew decided to stay out until 7:30 a.m. for pavement repairs. Two lanes were blocked on the northbound side disrupting the morning commute with a 90-minute delay that stretched for miles back into the state of Delaware.
The craziest thing I saw on the PennDOT camera this year was actually thanks to a tipster. There was a guy traveling south on I-95 who pulled over on the side of the road, got out of his car and decided to hold up a sign, facing traffic, which read "Kingdom of God." It definitely attracted a lot of attention and was certainly my PennDOT camera highlight of 2021. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of it, but he did this in the middle of rush hour traffic! Police arrived shortly thereafter.
On the morning of Saturday, July 24, there was an accident on the Schuylkill Expressway shortly before I went on-air at 4 a.m., in which an alleged drunk driver drove on the shoulder to go around a different accident scene, and in doing so, struck state police officers and first responders. Lower Merion Firefighter Tom Royds was killed in the accident. T
The next Sunday, Aug. 1, shortly after I went on-air at 4 p.m., I received a call that the Blue Route was being shut down for approximately two miles for the Lower Merion Fire Department to transport Royds' body to the medical examiner's office, complete with escort and other fire companies paying their respects along the route.
For me, it was reporting on a tragedy one weekend, and reporting about a beautiful show of love and respect that came from it the next.
In nearly 30 years of doing traffic in blizzards and tornadoes, I've never seen anything like the flooding from Hurricane Ida in September. I knew the morning rush would be a challenge, but seeing the Schuylkill River washing over the Schuylkill Expressway was unnerving, to say the least.
To also see firemen with flashlights below my window, searching for a man holding a concrete pillar for dear life trying to escape the roaring currents safely made it more profound a disaster. As the morning wore on, the flooded roads grew more treacherous and we went into warning mode, urging folks to stay away from the incredible danger so many roads posed.
Video courtesy of KYW Newsradio's Bryan Ramona.