TXWY EXCURSION AT SYR; NY; WHEN A PLOWED SURFACE ROAD IS MISTAKEN FOR AN UNPLOWED TXWY. ARPT SIGNAGE WAS A PROB.

Narrative

THIS MORNING AT APPROX XA30 AN ACFT CREW STARTED THE ENGS TO REPOS OUR ACFT FROM THE HANGAR TO THE GATE AT SYR. VISIBILITY WAS POOR (1 1/4 SM) AND THERE WAS BLOWING SNOW AND WAS SNOWING QUITE HEAVILY AT THE TIME. THE CAPT WAS TAXIING ACFT SLOWLY FOR OBVIOUS REASONS AND WE WERE TOLD TO TAKE TXWY H TO TXWY N; THEN HOLD SHORT OF RWY 28. WE PASSED AND SAW THE SIGN FOR TXWY H [WE PASSED IT]; THEN WE SAW A FRESHLY CLRED PATH -- ASSUMING IT WAS THE TXWY -- WE TURNED ON IT. THIS TURNED OUT; HOWEVER; TO BE A SVC ROAD THAT USED TO BE A TXWY. AS WE TAXIED; WE SAW TXWY LIGHTS TO OUR L AND WE REALIZED WE WERE NOT ON THE TXWY. THE CAPT ATTEMPTED TO STOP ACFT AND TURN TOWARDS TXWY (TO THE L) BUT IT ENDED UP THERE WAS A GRASS STRIP BTWN SVC ROAD AND TXWY; AND OUR ACFT GOT STUCK. WE HAD TO BE TOWED. VISIBILITY WAS EXTREMELY POOR THAT MORNING -- IT WAS DARK; SNOWING; BLOWING SNOW; ETC. THE AREA IS ALSO POORLY MARKED AND THE TXWY SIGN FOR TXWY H IS IN THE WRONG PLACE. IRONICALLY; THE MGR AT THE HANGAR TOLD US THIS WAS A MAJOR PROB AND HAD WRITTEN FAA IN THE PAST TO GET THIS CHANGED; BUT NO ACTION HAD BEEN TAKEN.