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No travel bans remain, most roadways fully open

There may be some roadways in Western New York that still have closures, but almost all have re-opened and all travel bans have been lifted.

Specific closures may be made at a local level, but no major roadways have significant closures.

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Travel ban lifted for all of Erie County

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced SMonday that the travel ban has been lifted for all communities in the county.

Lackawanna was the last to lift the ban. The mayor of Lackawanna tells Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz that the main and secondary roads are good, but they were still working on some side streets.  Extra equipment was brought in by the county to assist.

The travel ban for the Town and Village of Lancaster, Cheektowaga, Sloan and Depew has been lifted.  

All other cities, towns and villages are in a travel advisory. 

The New York State Thruway posted on their website that the  "full commercial vehicle ban has been lifted on the New York State Thruway between Exit 46 and the Pennsylvania State Line (I-90) in both directions as well as the entire length of the (I-190) Niagara Section." as of 6am Monday. 

Law enforcement is issuing tickets to those who do violate the travel ban. 

"My top priority is to keep New Yorkers safe, and this winter storm continues to pose a life and safety risk," Governor Hochul said. "While there are some areas that are no longer experiencing whiteout conditions, much of Erie County remains unsafe for motorists. Please take precautions, monitor local forecasts and take steps to keep you and your family safe."

The US-bound side of the Peace Bridge in Buffalo is back open.

A travel ban is already in effect for  empty  trucks/trailers and all tandem trucks. That ban started at 9 a.m. Saturday on the following routes:

• I-90 Exit 46 – PA line
• I-190 (south of the North Grand Island Bridge)
• Buffalo Skyway (NY 5) (Cars on Route 5 traveling north, into Buffalo, will be diverted off by Tifft Street.)
• I-190 (north of the North Grand Island Bridge)
• Kensington Expressway (NY 33)
• I-86 in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County

City of Buffalo DPW commissioner Nate Marton says the city has 200 pieces of equipment to help clear snow. 

RELATED: Gov. Hochul declares State of Emergency ahead of winter storm

Gov. Hochul issued a State of Emergency on Friday, to ensure extra resources will be available in Western New York to help local officials deal with the winter storm.

Hochul said she has activated 100 members of the New York National Guard to be in place in Western New York this weekend to assist with the snow event. 

The DPW assigned four front loaders across the city to ensure they could carve a path to any emergency the fire or police department may respond to. 

"We anticipate complete freedom of movement based on the amount of snowfall that we're anticipating," Fire Commissioner William Renaldo said. 

The travel advisory in Genesee County has been lifted, but police remind motorists to use caution when going out. 

Poloncarz also said more people are needed to shovel multiple feet of snow near Highmark Stadium.

"Effective immediately, the county and state are hereby authorizing individuals to travel to the stadium to assist in snow removal in order to ensure the stadium is safe and clear before it opens to the public on Monday," he said.

"If any person wishes to travel to the stadium to assist in snow removal, people are directed to drive down Route 20 (Southwestern Boulevard) or Abbott Road, which are clear. The Thruway (Interstates 90 and 190), Route 219, Route 400 and Route 5 remain closed to all traffic."

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Road Closures And Travel Bans Update In Western New York

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If you’re headed to work this morning, you may be wondering if you are able to take the 219, and the answer is a bit complicated. 

Listen to Clay & Company On 106.5 WYRK

On Monday morning, the Erie County Commissioner of Emergency Services, Dan Neaverth Jr., held a press conference, clarifying the current travel bans and travel advisories as we head into the work week. 

You can watch the full press conference below. 

Many people are wondering about one road in particular: the 219. 

According to Dan Neaverth Jr. and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Route 219 thruway to Springville opened at 12 AM on Monday. 

However, that does not mean you will be able to get onto the road. 

Last week, we found out that the troopers and plow operators have to coordinate who opens the barrier via key. 

Brad Walters from Lancaster told us that those arm barriers “are actually chained and padlocked in the up position, [and] the thruway troopers and DOT plows have the keys to drop them manually and relook them in place.”

Soon, those arm barriers will be opened, but as of 6:25 AM on Monday, many travelers reported that those arm barriers are still in the locked position, preventing any driver from merging onto the 219.

Other travel bans and advisories to be aware of are listed below. 

Travel Advisories:

• West Seneca
• Orchard Park

Travel Bans:

• South Buffalo (South of Williams St.)

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8 things you will see in a buffalo snow storm, bills fans in the snow, more from 106.5 wyrk.

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Travel advisories in place in some Western NY areas

A few travel bans issued in some locations around Western New York due to weather conditions have been reduced to advisories.

Travel advisories are in effect in the following locations:

• Niagara Falls
• City of Buffalo

Niagara County Sheriff Filicetti has lifted their travel advisory, but still urges people to use caution while traveling.

The Erie County Department of Public Works emphasizes to avoid unnecessary driving and says their crews started to clean residential areas as the snow began to subside.

City of Buffalo plows will continue to clean up the strees throughout the night and into tomorrow.

The advisories and bans are in effect until further notice.

Click here  for updates on travel advisories and closings.

LATEST NEWS

Travel ban lifted in Erie County as road conditions improve, warmer weather settles in

A travel ban has been lifted in New York’s Erie County, days after it was put into place as a deadly blizzard swept across the region, at times reducing visibility to zero.

The ban, which was implemented Friday, expired at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, officials said.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told reporters Wednesday night that the roads were in good enough condition to lift the ban.

“It has been 6 days,” Brown said. “Some people have not been able to restock groceries, to restock medications, to get to medical appointments, and being able to lift the travel ban safely now will allow people to do those important things.”

Most streets in the city are passable, Brown said, and he expected crews to have made a pass down the center of every residential street by the end of the night.

Though the ban has been lifted, a travel advisory was in place for Erie County as cleanup continues and a county-wide state of emergency remained. Brown asked people to be cautious and avoid driving unless necessary.

More than 450 pieces of equipment were on Buffalo streets plowing and hauling snow, and many traffic signals were still not working, he said.

The storm dumped upwards of 20 inches of snow in parts of New York — including nearly 52 inches at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

The powerful storm plunged much of the United States into a deep freeze, creating life-threatening conditions as more than 1 million homes and businesses were left in the dark, and wreaking havoc on flight schedules during the busy holiday travel week.

At least 76 people died in the storm, according to an NBC News tally. Erie County accounted for 37 of the deaths, 29 of which were in Buffalo.

Weather-related deaths were also reported in Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Illinois and Vermont.

In Buffalo, officials said it was possible the number could rise.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Wednesday night that police have cleared the backlog of calls relating to welfare checks, stranded motorists and reports of bodies.

Search and rescue teams were returning Thursday to check locations where bodies had been reported but could not be confirmed — either because of the amount of snow or the vagueness of location, Gramaglia said.

"We believe there were some credible 911 calls that contained more information ... low single digit numbers, that's again why we're going to concentrate our efforts on hitting those areas," he told reporters.

In Erie County, 17 of the people who died in the blizzard were found outside and four were in a vehicle , according to County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

Several people died because of a delay receiving emergency services or from cardiac events related to shoveling or blowing snow. Of the deaths, nine were people who died because they had no heat in their homes, he said.

Poloncarz said in a tweet Wednesday night that 500 National Guard members have conducted nearly 850 welfare checks on residents who had longterm power outages.

Power was being restored to New York, and by early Thursday, about 400 customers in the state were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us .

In Buffalo, where more than 20,000 customers were without power at one point during the storm, only three had no electricity Wednesday night, according to Brown, the mayor.

On Wednesday, city offices, facilities and roadways opened, as temperatures rose into the 40s across parts of New York.

Buffalo Niagara International Airport, which has been closed since Friday , reopened Wednesday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday night that all major state highways in western New York, including the Erie County portion of Interstate 190 and several state routes, would reopen at midnight.

“I am extremely grateful to all the highway maintenance workers, first responders and emergency service staff who continue to work tirelessly to help their fellow New Yorkers," Hochul said in a statement .   

The temperature is expected to continue climbing to the low-50s in the Buffalo region by Friday, and will help melt the accumulated snow, according to the National Weather Service .

Claire Cardona is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital.

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