HARTFORD, Conn. -- The governor shared in frustration expressed by some drivers who were stuck in stalled traffic during Thursday's heavy snowstorm statewide.

"I'm frustrated, too. It took me two hours to go from Suffield to Hartford -- a 20-mile trip. On normal days, it would take you 25, 30 minutes," Gov. Jodi Rell said. "I'm frustrated as well, but you know, it is New England. We are expecting snow, we're expecting more this weekend, prepare in advance."

A heavy snow warning was in effect as Winter Storm Alexander began dropping snow across Connecticut at about 11:30 a.m. At the height of the storm during the early afternoon, the storm dropped as much as an inch to two inches of snow per hour.

"At 10 o'clock, we started to discuss the idea of early release," Rell said. "I had my office contact the major businesses around the greater Hartford area."

The governor ordered the dismissal of all non-essential state employees at 12:30 p.m. Legislative staffers were dismissed at noon, and judicial staffers were dismissed at 1 p.m. The governor said the state contacted companies, but was unable to coordinate a staggered dismissal among private employees.

"When we made the decision to release, the major insurance companies that we had spoken with had not made a decision," Rell said." "My guess is that they started around 1 o'clock, or thereabouts, and a little after releasing their employees as well. So, while we had planned to stagger the releases, I think that some of the businesses probably all let out at one time."

The governor's office issued a statement Friday afternoon, announcing that Rell has written the leaders of the Hartford-area's 12 largest private employers, asking them to join in a new system to coordinate early releases during inclement weather.

"These coordinating calls will also help us minimize the disruption to highway preparation and cleanup," Rell said. "I am asking each company to designate a person to work with my office on this effort, which I want to become a regular feature when big storms hit on work days."

"I'm frustrated as well, but you know, it is New England. We are expecting snow, we're expecting more this weekend, prepare in advance." - Gov. Jodi Rell R-Connecticut

State police reported receiving 1,641 calls for crashes along the state's 5,000 miles of highways. Troopers investigated 235 crashes, of which, 27 involved injuries. Authorities closed both directions of Interstates 91 and 84 in downtown Hartford just after 5:30 p.m. after two tractor-trailers got stuck and another one jackknifed.

"The cars were just everywhere. The volume of traffic was just unbelievable," Rell said.

Erin Postemski, a nurse at New Britain General Hospital, was among drivers stuck in traffic along I-84. It took her six hours to get home to Manchester.

"There were spinouts, there were tractor-trailers on the side of the road, people abandoned cars," she said. "It was impossible. There was no way, if there was an emergency, that anyone was getting through."

The state Department of Transportation deployed a full staff of 1,500 employees to work on the roads. Officials said that 632 trucks would cover 5,000 miles of state roads. Many of those crews, however, were stuck in the same stalled traffic throughout the state's highways.

"I noticed at one time there were actually two DOT trucks that couldn't move. They couldn't go past the cars that were literally stacked up on the highway," Rell said. "There were just cars everywhere. When you have 14 inches of snow falling in about a seven-hour span, it's very difficult to keep up."

When all was said and done, Harwinton, Wolcott, Falls Village and Coventry all reported receiving a foot or more of snow accumulation. Bristol, New Britain, Simsbury and Goshen recorded more than 10 inches.

"When you look at hindsight, the real problem here (Thursday) was the volume of cars on the road -- all over, not just in downtown Hartford leaving work, but on the interstates as well, where people were either coming from shopping, going home, coming from work, whatever, and a lot of trucks out there, lot of jackknifed trucks, a lot of people slipping and sliding," Rell said.

Already, the National Weather Service issued late on Thursday night a Winter Storm Watch for Litchfield County to take effect late Saturday night and last into Monday.

The governor granted Eyewitness News a media availability on Friday afternoon to talk about the upcoming weekend storm. However, when the governor's office learned Eyewitness News also had questions about Thursday's storm, the interview was abruptly canceled.

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