Roads Closing due to Frances?

[wsquared77]

I had a question that I hope you all could help me with. Our secretary from work (who spent the weekend up in western NC on a trip schdeuled prior to Frances) called another member of our staff last night (didn't call me, her manager ) and said that they were stuck in NC because of all the road closures and didn't know when she'd be able to get back. I haven't heard of any major closings on I-40, I-26, I-85, I-95 or the FL turnpike (which are the major roads I use when I go visit my family who live in the same area.). Maybe I've missed the news on this sort of thing down here in Miami. COuld you all let me know of any major road closures in your area that might affect a trip from western NC to SE FL. Thank you!

[HugoCameandLeft]

I saw something on the news about part of I-95 collapsing in Florida - Don't know if it required closure or not...

[Ziplock48]

there are cars abandoned throughout the area, left behind when fuel ran out. In many areas of Florida, there will not be any more gas until tanker ships deliver it to the ports, and then trucks will have to transport it to the individual stations. People are worried here in North Florida that we may not have enough gas to prepare for Ivan, five or more days into the future. This reporting comes from many television news sources.

I would not encourage anyone to travel, yet. It is just too uncertain. The last thing you want is to be out of gas and vulnerable on a major highway, especially when emergency resouces such a police are stretched to the limit. It has the makings of a nighmare scenario.

For what it is worth, I don't think your employee is making excuses! We are having constant Tornado alerts here in Duval COunty. Schools will not even open until Thursday....some will be closed all week. We are having flooding here, as well. It is still a dangerous weather situation!
Zip

[jlauderdal]

I had a question that I hope you all could help me with. Our secretary from work (who spent the weekend up in western NC on a trip schdeuled prior to Frances) called another member of our staff last night (didn't call me, her manager ) and said that they were stuck in NC because of all the road closures and didn't know when she'd be able to get back. I haven't heard of any major closings on I-40, I-26, I-85, I-95 or the FL turnpike (which are the major roads I use when I go visit my family who live in the same area.). Maybe I've missed the news on this sort of thing down here in Miami. COuld you all let me know of any major road closures in your area that might affect a trip from western NC to SE FL. Thank you!

the secretary isnt too smart lying about something that can be easily verified. talked to a friend inc harlotte and trust me there are no roads closed there or anywhere else. as far as 1-95..they had a bit of problem on the northbound lanes in lake worht but the since the secretary would be on the other side it wouldnt affect her. good luck to you in your search for a smarter secretary and good luck to the secretary as she hunts for a new job.

[wsquared77]

I don't blame her for not wanting to travel, but I just wish that she had said that (instead of the whole "roads closed" thing) and she had called me directly as she's supposed to! Like I don't have enough things to work on and think about, especially with Ivan potentially heading this direction. I don't want to have to deal with disciplinary actions right now. I work for a hospital and as you can well imagine, preparing for the approach of a storm is very time consuming!

[Houstonia]

I'm getting abit off topic here, bI hope that you discuss with your secretary her inability to get to work. She may be having road problems that are isolated to her area. Or, there may even be some other problem going on that she was reluctant to discuss with you.

I just think jlauderdale may be being a little quick to judge the situation when none of us knows what her/his situation is. Obviously (unless you've discussed it on the board before) we don't know what this person's job history is.

And I'm not sure this would be the proper forum to discuss it.

[jdray]

I-10 is closed from US301 to Lake City due to flooding.

I-95 has a sinkhole in Palm Beach County.

I-95 south here in Jacksonville is a parking lot going south.

[wsquared77]

I understand exactly what you mean Hustonia and I would love to discuss this with her so I can better undertstand the situation she is facing, excpet she hasn't called me directly and I don't know where to reach her in NC. I posted the question so I could have some facts as far as how the roads and weather are concerned. More so I could help her find an alternate route (if that were the issue). I'm definitely not looking to fire her over this, just wanted to gather some information before (and if) I talked to her. Unfortunately, there are no show/no call policies that I have to follow if she never calls me, since I am her supervisor. Sorry...this is getting really off topic. I really was just wondering about how the roads were in different areas!

[patsmsg]

Perhaps she lied, but more likely she was just misinformed. There's LOTs of misinformation in hurricane situations.

I think when folks evacuate...you have to allow some time for the return trip. You can't just hop back home the very next day.

If there is no gas. What's the point, unless you expect her to ride down on a horse?

[jlauderdal]

I'm getting abit off topic here, bI hope that you discuss with your secretary her inability to get to work. She may be having road problems that are isolated to her area. Or, there may even be some other problem going on that she was reluctant to discuss with you.

I just think jlauderdale may be being a little quick to judge the situation when none of us knows what her/his situation is. Obviously (unless you've discussed it on the board before) we don't know what this person's job history is.

And I'm not sure this would be the proper forum to discuss it.

the situation is there arent any major road closings. if there is another problem she should have called the boss. i hope it works out for the boss and the secretary.

Peace

[MBismyPlayground]

Hi,
Would just like to throw my 2 cents in here. I live in Myrtle Beach, daughter lives in Fayetteville NC. All over here we have flood warnings, tornando watches ect. Depending on where your employee was visiting(western NC is a pretty big area), and the route she would be taking back home, there is a BIG possibility of road closures. You have to remember there are MANY small towns in these areas, with small creeks flooding the roads ect. Not all of them make the news. We have been getting rain, rain and more rain since Charley, and it isn't stopping.

[jdray]

http://www3.dot.state.fl.us/trafficinformation/

Best bet for road closures and accidents. But the site just wont come up right now.

If there are any accidents or abandoned cars on 95, there will be some major slow downs.

I-95 from the Georgia line to Flagler county is almost a pure construction zone in most areas.

Lots of areas are still heavily damaged, gas stations are without power in a lot of areas.


here is a noon update on just NE Florida counties:
Percentage of customers still without power in northeast Florida:
Putnam County - 79%
St. Johns County - 70%
Columbia County - 59%
Nassau County - 56%
Union County - 56%
Alachua County - 51%
Flagler County - 50%
Baker County - 49%
Bradford County - 45%
Clay County - 43%
Duval County - 15%

[Jupiter]

I think this link will give you any info you may need
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinform ... rnings.htm

[pbobbyp]

Well I can tell you that in Georgia there are many road closures. There are many cities that were already saturated before this rain even entered georgia. I do know that Here on the east coast of georgia in savannah to brunswick that we have had 11" of rain and we where already drinched from previous rainfall so many of our roads are closed due to standing water. with that being said this area was farther away from center and we have had downpours so i would think that the western side of georgia is worse.

[pbobbyp]

If you have family who lives in the same area, it would seem to me that with you being a manager, that you would simply call your own family who lives in the area and ask them about closures in that area. WOW WHAT A GREAT MANAGER YOU ARE THAT YOU WOULD NOT THINK TO DO SOME VERFYING OF YOUR OWN...!!!

[MBismyPlayground]

Here is a link to NC road closures, it DLs into an excel program.
http://apps.dot.state.nc.us/tims/Excel.aspx
Georgia is here
http://www.georgia-navigator.com/perl/incidents
SC is a waste as it really does not list much

MANY tornado Warnings now in North and South Carolina. Safer to stay put regardless of her location.

[Houstonia]

I posted the question so I could have some facts as far as how the roads and weather are concerned. More so I could help her find an alternate route (if that were the issue). I'm definitely not looking to fire her over this, just wanted to gather some information before (and if) I talked to her. Unfortunately, there are no show/no call policies that I have to follow if she never calls me, since I am her supervisor. Sorry...this is getting really off topic. I really was just wondering about how the roads were in different areas!

Sorry - I wasn't blaming you wsquared - since you work for a hospital, everyone is probably under a lot of stress and trying to work, while under the stress of having personal issues to take care of after the storm! Good luck with your secretary and good luck with your recovery process!!

[Ziplock48]

Another Tornado WARNING. For an area that crosses I-95 in Putnam, St. Johns, and Duval Counties !! Anyone with half a lick of common sense would realize that it is a very dangerous situation. In the last ten hours or so, I have lost count of the number of tornadoes that have crosses the I-95 corridor in my area.

Just because there may be no "Offical" road closing does not mean that it is a good idea to be on the road.

Just my opinion, but I think your secretary should be congratulated on having the common sense to protect her life. No job is worth rolling the dice. I am sympathetic to your responsibility towards your hospital and the patients whose lives may depend upon management's skill is allocating resources, having been in managment myself for almost fifteen years. However, I always put the lives and health of my employees first.

Can your need for this person's services be so great that you would expect her to take a chance with her life? Four people are reported dead in Georgia due to the storm. She would be just as absent if she had caught the flu. Do you not have a back up plan for absence to to illness?

If my tone sounds strident, it is because it ticks me off...I guess you have touched a sore spot with me. Several posters mentioned that this may not be the appropriate formum for discussing this issue, but the principle is this: there is danger due to the weather between North Carolina and home for this person. We are hearing our Emergency Management Officials repeating that it is a better idea to stay home, and to travel only for emergency purposes. Drive only if you must. So there you have it, from the "Officials" say it is so.

Breaking news, Charlotte County NC, tornado Warning. Warning means tornado exists, not MAY happen.

I hope things run smoothly for you and all concerned.
Good luck,
Zip

[wsquared77]

I have called my own family and was unable to reach them. I called 3 different family members, none of which were home, and they are in the same city where my secretary is visiting. I was able to find some information on line about that specific area, but posted the question on this forum to try and get a sense of what it was like between here and there. I am trying to verify information. This forum has been really helpful to me and my family in that regard throughout this storm. I didn't post the question in order to get commentary on my secretary's job performance (which by the way is very good) or my performance as a manager. I only mentioned in my original post that she hadn't spoken to me so you would know that I was going on a 3rd party account of what she said her reasons were for not returning to FL. I obviously hope she makes it home without any problems, and I will support her attempts and delays in trying to get home. I really just wanted some information and I'm sorry that the way her delays have been communicated to me might cause her problems when she returns to work. I'm going to try my best to make sure that doesn't happen.[/quote]

[wsquared77]

In response to another post, I do completely understand her not wanting to travel in this weather and we can do without her for several days. I totally want her to be safe and I think she made the right decision by not traveling. By asking about road closures I was also wanting to know what might be contributing to her delays so I can plan accordingly for how long she might be out. Also, she's had many phone calls today and I want to be able to give the people calling for her an idea on when we might expect her back. I asked in the post about road closures because that's the reason my secretary gave my other employee for not traveling. I'm not saying she was lying. I'm not saying I want her to travel back in this horrible weather. AGAIN I say, personally I'm not punishing her for not being here. I've been outraged by the stories I've heard from people whose employers have insisted that they come to work or be fired when it wasn't safe to do so. Since she didn't call me directly she may face some consequences from our director for that, but it wouldn't be anything more than a verbal warning. I'm not trying to be a "big bad boss" here. I care about the employees who work with me. They are great and do their jobs well. I work for a company that does everything it can to support it's employees and I strongly believe in that. I want her to follow all warnings and advice for local officials. I just wish she would communicate with me and I posted the question because I wondered what conditions were really like out there. It's a relatively pretty day here in Miami and our local news has stopped it's "wall-to-wall" coverage so I don't know about all of the impacts of Frances as it continues. I'm sorry if anyone misinnterpreted my other postings to reflect anything other than wanting to gather information. Thank you to those of who have posted sites and information. It's been very helpful and I'm sorry for anyone who is still going through the terrible weather that is being produced by this storm.