If the state Department of Transportation's performance on busy Route 8 during Wednesday morning's snow event is an indicator of what's to come for the rest of the next two months or so, it is going to be a "long" winter from the standpoint of travel in the area.

As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, Butler's North Main Street Hill still wasn't close to being in the kind of condition that it should have been seven or eight hours after the snow moved in. That steep, major entrance into the downtown business district should be a major priority for PennDOT crews. However, Wednesday morning, as has occurred so often in the past, it wasn't accorded sufficient anti-skid material and salt, just like the level stretch of Route 8 leading to and past the Clearview Mall.

In the Route 8 north commercial area, the passing lanes had gotten little, if any attention, as of Wednesday afternoon, and Butler County PennDOT continued its longstanding tradition of ignoring the fact that turning lanes in a busy area should be safe for vehicles also.

Farther north, on Route 8 between Butler and Slippery Rock, much of that stretch was described as bad, even as late as 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Motorists can feel troubled about what to expect if Butler County gets a foot of snow, instead of a couple of inches, like winter deposited Wednesday morning.

It also was evident for motorists traveling Route 8 between Butler and Allegheny County that PennDOT crews had allowed the storm to get ahead of them. But even with that having happened, it was puzzling for some motorists to see PennDOT trucks traveling that roadway without their blades down and not applying anti-skid material.

Route 422 west of Butler was described as not meriting plaudits for PennDOT and exit ramps in the Butler area were slippery.

If Wednesday was a tune-up for state highway crews, those in charge failed to ascertain the correct adjustment.

PennDOT cannot be everywhere at one time; motorists hardly expect that. However, when there isn't a firm grasp of the basics, which was the kind of situation that existed Wednesday, motorists are justified in questioning why.

Wednesday's storm should have been a temporary inconvenience, rather than the virtually all-day headache for which PennDOT was responsible.