CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Governor Abigail Spanberger visited the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Richmond District Office Monday afternoon to receive a briefing on the state’s coordinated response to last weekend’s winter storm.
After touring the Transportation Operations Center, the Governor thanked VDOT mechanics, safety teams, state police, the Virginia National Guard, and other state agencies for their “extraordinary work” in keeping Virginians safe.
"I am really grateful for the extraordinary work of so many of the folks who are here in the room,” Spanberger said adding more than an 80% reduction in traffic on Sunday allowed plows to clear roads more effectively during the storm.
She credited Virginia drivers’ decision to heed warnings and stay home for preventing crashes and saving lives.
"That’s an unknowable number of car accidents, potential fatalities, or slower response and ability to plow the roads” that were avoided, she said. Still, she cautioned that with very low temperatures expected in the coming days, “any place there’s moisture… has the real possibility of freezing and becoming icy,” especially at night.
The Governor said FEMA resources, including personnel from out of state as well as supplies such as generators and food, were made available in preparation for the storm.
"We were aggressive in requesting that federal declaration… when it comes to emergency management and responding to a crisis, you want to be as fully prepared as we possibly can," she said.
VDOT Richmond District Engineer Dale Totten said the agency had made significant progress since the storm ended.
"Our interstates are largely clear. Our primary roads are largely in a very minor condition or clear, which is a remarkable achievement,” Totten said.
He credited “lots of good people doing lots of good work.”
Crews have begun moving into secondary roads and subdivisions in more populated counties.
Totten also warned that extremely low temperatures mean traditional snow removal chemicals are less effective.
"Anything that’s wet today will likely be frozen overnight,” he said, adding that crews will focus on safety and maintenance overnight and “really kind of into an assertive mode in the morning” when temperatures rise.
VDOT’s goal is to have “touched every road within 48 hours of the end of the event,” Totten said, though many neighborhood streets are covered by a “hard pack of ice” that may not be cleared to bare pavement immediately. “Our goal is to get roads passable… so that folks can get in and out of their neighborhood safely,” he said.
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