March 12--Service at Buffalo Niagara International Airport slowed to a virtual shutdown yesterday after high winds swept torrents of snow into the area, while Metro buses and subways continue to soldier on, transit officials reported.
Greyhound, Trailways and Megabus also canceled all trips out of Buffalo until further notice, according to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority -- while Amtrak reported its trains still running and on time as of late this morning.
The Thruway remains open to traffic, meanwhile, though tandem trailer truck movements have been suspended from the Pennsylvania state line to Exit 25A at Schenectady.
"We're open and will be open as long as the weather allows," said Dick Keane, Buffalo public information officer for the Thruway Authority.
That was the status of transportation systems today as the area absorbed its second blizzard of the new year, with no major traffic problems yet reported -- possibly because many downtown offices, including Erie County offices, had closed before opening early on Wednesday.
C. Douglas Hartmayer, spokesman for the NFTA, said Southwest Airlines and USAirways have suspended service for the day while JetBlue was continuing until 2 p.m. but probably not much past that. United Airlines was still flying late this morning but was set to decide the status of further trips early this afternoon, Hartmayer said. Delta still had slated a flight to New York and American was scheduled to fly to Chicago -- both at 4:05 p.m.
"Our runways are still open, but the airlines have taken the precautionary measure of canceling flights because of the blizzard," he said. "The runways may still have good braking, but visibility then comes into play."
Metro Rail reported no delays, he said, while Metro Bus service continues though riders could expect to encounter some late arrivals at area bus stops.
email: [email protected]
Copyright 2014 - The Buffalo News, N.Y.
