Politics & Government

Officials: Stay off the Roadways

The winter storm has delayed openings and snarled traffic throughout the metro area. Many area school systems are also closed today. Trash pickup in Gwinnett County will also be delayed.

UPDATED at 7:16 a.m.

The message from the Georgia Department of Transportation is very straightforward: Stay home.

“This has been a trying night for thousands of Georgians,” DOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale said in a released statement.  “This storm and the bitter temperatures have caused untold hardships.  We are hopeful to return roadways to some level of normalcy today but would encourage the public to remain home, preferably all day if possible.  For your own safety, you should refrain from driving at all unless you are faced with a dire emergency.”

Officials are hoping citizens will comply to give crews a chance to clear the roadways. With temperatures expected to remain below freezing much of the day and overnight temperatures forecast to drop into the teens again, roadways that are not treated may re-freeze Wednesday night.

Dacula City Hall will remain closed until 10 a.m. In a post on the City of Dacula website, Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks wrote, "The streets and roads in the Dacula area are icy this morning. While the streets may seem dry, most are covered in black ice, and some have a powdering of snow also. Driving is dangerous."

Wednesday sanitation routes for city residents will be rescheduled as weather permits, he added.

In Gwinnett, county administrative offices, tag offices and park and recreation facilities will delay opening until 10 a.m. Gwinnett trials and hearings are cancelled. The Gwinnett County Transit Express Bus Service will not run. If conditions allow, local routes 10 and 40 will begin at 10 a.m.

No trash pickup will take place in Gwinnett today. Collection for the rest of the week will be delayed by one day. If your normal collection day is Wednesday, it will be picked up Thursday. Thursday pickups will take place Friday and Friday's trash pickup has been rescheduled to Saturday.

Further updates will be posted throughout the day on the Gwinnett County website.

Gwinnett County Schools are also closed today

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