TRIANGLE, Va. — .Members of the small community of Triangle, Virginia are scrambling to make sure they are ready for the next round of snow expected to hit the DMV this week. The town sits near Interstate 95, where for more than 24 hours, a shutdown kept thousands of drivers stuck.
Many of these drivers descended on the community and nearby neighborhoods to find food, drinks, gas and lodging. On Monday, locals and visitors flocked to any available restaurant open for business. It was so packed at the local McDonald's it took up to 40 minutes for a customer to receive their order.
The icy conditions on the road did not help the situation as secondary roads and Route 1 were too dicey or blocked due to downed trees or power lines.
Most businesses were finally able to reopen on Wednesday including the Triangle Plaza near Fraley Boulevard. However, the shutdown continues to leave an impact even though the northbound and southbound lanes have finally reopened.
Owners of Triangle Fried Chicken said they are still waiting on supplies including bread.
"We didn't get our delivery yesterday, the day before yesterday and today as well," owner Wahid Hashimi said. "We are all worried and we have to be prepared for it."
Hashimi hopes to get the shipment soon before more winter weather is expected to move in.
He and his wife reopened on Tuesday to long lines since they were able to offer another option for food, but he said icy roads prevented some of his workers from arriving.
"It was a challenging night," Hashimi said.
Meanwhile, people have been flocking to other businesses including the laundromat at the plaza. Donna Rodriguez said even the small mundane task of doing laundry had to be stalled because of the bad weather.
"We haven't done laundry in three weeks," Rodriguez said. "I'm like scared. I don't want a lot of things happening on the roads like crashes and people without food if they get stuck again."
"Today is a lot better compared to what had in the last 24 hours," Triangle resident Tanya Russ added. "The community has come together. I've noticed that since things are getting better now."
Thursday will be cloud to start before snow develops in the later evening hours and continues overnight.
Snow will arrive after 8 p.m. Thursday night and continue into the early morning hours of Friday.