The agency tweeted to the stranded drivers on Monday that reinforcements were arriving from other states to help get them moving again. She urged stuck motorists to ask truck drivers if they have food or water to share, since many carry extra supplies in case they get stranded. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Emily Clementson, a truck driver, told NBC Washington.
More than 281,000 customers remained without electricity on Tuesday, according to.
Monday, Virginia State Police said troopers had responded to more than 2,000 calls for service due to treacherous road conditions.Ĭompounding the challenges, traffic cameras went offline as much of central Virginia lost power in the storm, VDOT said. Thousands of accidents and stranded vehicles were reported throughout central and northern Virginia. As hours passed and night fell, motorists posted desperate messages on social media about running out of fuel, food and water.īetween 7 to 11 inches of snow accumulated in the area during Monday’s blizzard, according to the National Weather Service, and state police had warned people to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary, especially as evening and freezing temperatures set in. The impasse began when a tractor-trailer jackknifed in the ice and snow, causing a chain reaction of other commercial vehicles losing control and becoming disabled in the traffic lanes, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Tuesday. In addition to clearing the trucks, we are treating for snow and several inches of ice that has accumulated around them to ensure that when the lanes reopen, motorists can safely proceed to their destination,” said Marcie Parker, the agency’s Fredericksburg District engineer. This is unprecedented, and we continue to steadily move stopped trucks to make progress toward restoring lanes. “We know many travelers have been stuck on Interstate 95 in our region for extraordinary periods of time over the past 24 hours, in some cases since Monday morning. By 9 a.m., a single lane of traffic was creeping forward between many stalled trucks and cars in one direction, while people could be seen walking down traffic lanes still covered with ice and snow.
East Coast’s main north-south highway, the transportation agency said. We need to keep people safe, and then we need to clear them.”Ĭrews were working to remove stopped trucks, plow snow, de-ice the roadway and guide stranded motorists to the nearest exits along the U.S. "We need to get the cars and the trucks off the roads. “Right now, things aren’t moving as you know and as you can see on the cameras,” Northam told radio station WTOP Tuesday morning. He also couldn't say when the situation would be resolved. He said the National Guard was “available” but he hadn’t yet called upon members to help.
Ralph Northam said his team responded through the night, sending out emergency messages to connect stranded drivers with help, and working with local officials to set up warming shelters as needed. At around daybreak on Tuesday, the agency tweeted that “crews will start taking people off at any available interchange to get them.” Road crews struggled to reach hundreds of motorists on Tuesday after they were stranded all night in freezing temperatures along a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia where tractor-trailers jackknifed in the ice and snow, state police said.īoth directions of traffic on I-95 came to a standstill Monday between Ruther Glen, Virginia, in Caroline County and exit 152 in Dumfries, Prince William County, the Virginia Department of Transportation said. Spending the overnight hours in frigid weather was “nervewracking,” he said.ĭrivers snowed-in all night as I-95 shuts down in Virginia If you are in trouble on Virginia roads today, call at 1-800-FOR-ROAD.- Tim Kaine January 4, 2022 I’m frustrated, but not in serious trouble.