FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Salt brine trucks were seen treating roadways throughout Virginia Thursday afternoon, several hours before the second round of snow was expected to hit in less than a week.
The Virginia Department of Transportation deployed the trucks on Wednesday to pre-treat roads and bridges since conditions were drier. Since roads were wet earlier this week, transportation officials said bringing them would not have been effective.
The second winter event is expected to bring in less snowfall (around four inches) than Monday's storms, but temperatures are going to be colder. The majority of the snowfall should be wrapping up by the time people wake up, per the National Weather Service (NWS).
The potential icy conditions could wreak more havoc to a system already stressed by the previous storm.
More than 43,000 Dominion Energy customers are still without power as of Thursday afternoon. There were more damage and downed trees than originally reported, according to Craig Carper of Dominion Energy. Roughly 400,000 customers were in the dark after the snow hit.
"We know it's stressful and some cases traumatic to people so we're working as hard as we can to get customers up and running," Carper said. "We've got all of our crews out working including 900 utility workers from other states."
VDOT Commissioner Steven Birch said in a conference call on Thursday that interstates have been clear but secondary roads, primarily in the Culpeper and Fredericksburg district, can range from clear to severe. Crews have been working 12-hour shifts around the clock to clear roads from downed trees.
State officials received complaints from thousands of drivers after they were stuck in a shutdown, many for more than 24 hours, on Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg after multiple crashes. The sheer volume of incidents was unprecedented, per Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine.
"We recognize that there are gaps that we need to address to make sure that regardless of any extraordinary event, how we can deploy resources and help people as effectively as we can," Valentine said.
The Virginia National Guard has deployed about 40 soldiers and airmen for possible severe winter weather response. Roughly 20 soldiers are on duty in the Southwest Virginia area and about 20 airmen are posted in the Virginia Beach area and will begin moving into the Northern Virginia area Thursday afternoon.
Both groups are equipped with chain saws to conduct debris reduction operations to clear fallen trees to open blocked roads, and they will travel in heavy-duty trucks capable of navigating through heavy snow.
Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency due to back-to-back storms and stretched resources. The declaration would allow activation of state emergency response plans and mutual aid agreements, seek reimbursements and active statutory immunity and liability protections.
VDOT is asking people to stay off the roads if it is not necessary. They also provided some key reminders:
- Postpone travel as long as possible to give crews time to treat roads.
- Allow plenty of time to reach your destination.
- Do not pass snow plows.
- Keep an emergency winter weather kit in your vehicle which includes food, water, first aid materials, tools and blankets in the event of a breakdown or stoppage.
- Visit 511Virginia.org for the latest road conditions before traveling. If possible, avoid travel until precipitation stops and road conditions improve.
The conditions are not just a complicating factor for drivers, but the hospitals.
Which according to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association is dealing with its second-highest peak of hospitalizations of the entire pandemic.
"It's a complicating factor for people who are trying to travel to a healthcare facility to receive treatment that they may need. It can be a complicating factor for people who are emergency medical technicians who were operating ambulances and other emergency and public safety vehicles who need to transport patients or respond to accident scenes," Julian Walker, Vice President of Communications with Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association said.
Walker said there are a lot of challenges that are sort of occurring simultaneously, which just complicates matters and certainly the winter weather is another one of those factors.