JOC Staff | Aug 31, 2011 5:26PM EDT
Many trucks are still unable to make deliveries in New Jersey, Vermont and New York because numerous bridges and road remain washed out after Hurricane Irene battered the region last weekend.
Workers continue to repairs damaged infrastructure after up to 15 inches of torrential rain and high winds caused more than $10 billion in damage on the East Coast, according to published reports. Vermont, one of the hardest-hit states, received $5 million in emergency funds from DOT Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday.
The extensive flooding in the region caused trouble on two fronts for Kane Is Able, a Scranton, Pa.-based trucking and logistics company.
First, it created a trailer capacity issue, said Lawrence Catanzaro, vice president of safety for the carrier, which hauls freight between Boston and Washington, D.C.
“A lot of customers ended up canceling loads, and rightly so,” Catanzaro said. “We also had loads that were ready to go out and we had to hold them,” he said. “That created an issue the next day when we had new loads and no trailers.”
Second, flooding in Upstate New York forced drivers to take lengthy detours, “which meant they ran out of hours,” Catanzaro said. “We’re back on schedule at this time.”
Fortunately, I-81 and I-84, Kane’s main routes from the Mid-Atlantic to New England, weren’t shut down, unlike portions of the New York State Thruway.
“Our New England customers got hit hard, but they’re mainly off the main highways,” said Catanzaro. And power is still out in many areas of Pennsylvania.
CSX Transportation said on Tuesday its operations in the Northeast were limited, mainly at washed out track segments west of Selkirk, N.Y., and on lines between Albany and New York. An update from Norfolk Southern wasn’t available.