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Extensive Cleanup Continues Tuesday on Secondary Roads, in Subdivisions

by | Jan 26, 2016 | Traffic

By Kelly Hannon and Tina Bundy, Virginia Department of Transportation. VDOT plow in downtown Fredericksburg on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016. Photo copyright Fredericksburg.Today.

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) crews worked through the night and will continue clearing secondary roads and subdivision streets all day Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, across the Fredericksburg District.

VDOT appreciates the public’s patience as we apply all resources and personnel to clean up residential areas as quickly as possible, as well as treating interstates and primary roads for re-freezing in the overnight hours.

This morning, travelers will find open travel lanes and bare pavement on Interstate 95 and primary roads. Isolated patches of ice or snow may remain. Motorists should use caution and reduce their speed, especially on bridges, overpasses, and ramps, which freeze first, as well as on roads carrying less traffic, and on hills and curves.

Additional sand and salt was applied to I-95 and main roads overnight to improve traction and reduce icing. Accumulated snow piles continued to be loaded and hauled away from intersections, turn lanes, crossovers, and road shoulders on primary roads to open up all lanes and improve sight distance for motorists.

VDOT Park & Ride commuter lots are open this morning with an estimated 90 percent of spaces available. Crews have treated the lots to reduce icing and provide traction.

Virginia Railway Express lots at the Brooke, Leeland Road, and Spotsylvania train stations also have 90 percent of their parking spaces open and available, which are the locations where VDOT is responsible for snow removal.

Snow removal will continue 24 hours a day until all state-maintained roads are clear. Across the district, crews are using around 1,000 trucks and pieces of equipment to make neighborhoods and subdivisions passable over 4,615 miles of secondary routes.

Standard plow trucks are most effective in snowfall amounts of approximately 10 inches. Due to the heavy snowfall received with this event, VDOT must supplement these trucks with additional heavy equipment in neighborhoods and along secondary roads. Treatment materials are being spread on secondary roads to assist with ice melt.

Along the Northern Neck, and in Essex, King and Queen and King William counties on the Middle Peninsula, heavy equipment is also being used to remove deep snow drifts to open secondary roads. Additional resources are shifting to these areas.

What Residents Should Know
· All cul-de-sacs and roads will be cleared. Crews will work 24 hours a day until every state-maintained road has been visited by a snowplow. We are steadily working toward reaching all neighborhoods and subdivisions.
· In subdivisions, crews focus on the most heavily traveled roads first. Cul-de-sacs are usually plowed last.
· Please be aware that plows will block driveways with snow. With major storms, this is an unintended consequence of making the roads passable. VDOT is sorry for this inconvenience, but to make as many roads passable as quickly as possible, there is no way to avoid it. VDOT is not removing snow from driveways.
· If residents have a serious emergency (i.e. medical or fire), they should call 9-1-1 and VDOT will coordinate with emergency responders to get them the help they need.
· Drivers should be alert for pedestrians walking in roads, especially in more urban areas where most sidewalks are blocked with deep piles of snow. VDOT is not responsible for snow removal on sidewalks.

511Virginia
Before starting a trip, motorists can find real-time information about road conditions in their region of Virginia at 511Virginia.
Download the free mobile 511 app for Apple and Android devices to stay connected, or visit www.511Virginia.org. Motorists also can reach 511Virginia by calling 511 from any phone in Virginia.

VDOT’s 14-county Fredericksburg District includes the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford in the Fredericksburg area; Northumberland, Richmond, Lancaster and Westmoreland counties in the Northern Neck; Essex, Gloucester, King & Queen, King William, Mathews and Middlesex counties in the Middle Peninsula.

More
Snow Removal Slow Going on Fredericksburg City Streets

Fredericksburg Region Closings and Delays for January 26

Crews Hired to Haul Snow from Downtown Fredericksburg Streets

Citgo Station Metal Canopy Collapses on Gas Pumps

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