HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Some people in Central Virginia say they still feel trapped at home Thursday, four days after Sunday's ice storm left neighborhood streets covered in thick ice.
CBS 6 has heard from community members frustrated with dangerous neighborhood road conditions that have persisted despite crews working to clear streets. The continuous sub-freezing temperatures following the ice storm have made salt, sand and de-icing chemicals less effective than after other Virginia winter storms.
"So many people are stuck in Henrico neighborhoods. We cannot get to work. Deliveries cannot reach us. We are running out of food. Garbage is not being picked up," one resident wrote in an email to CBS 6. "I know the guys are working hard clearing snow and ice but the county just didn't plan well enough. They should have private contractors lined up to help county workers. This is the bare minimum of what a government should do."
Those concerns highlight the challenges some neighbors face as ice continues to make some local streets impassable.
In response to similar questions, Henrico County has shared answers to frequently asked questions they're receiving about the ongoing cleanup efforts. Scroll down for that.
Henrico County Snow Removal FAQ
Q: Why hasn’t my neighborhood street been plowed yet?
A: Simply put, because we just can’t plow at this time. With typical Virginia storms and weather, we’re able to send our full fleet and clear streets with just a few passes. Most roads have a multi-inch layer of ice on them, and our standard plows can’t remove it. We’re only able to use our heaviest-duty equipment to slowly break the ice apart and then push it. It’s a slow process that has taken multiple pieces of heavy equipment hours. We were able to get the primary and secondary roads cleared before they were too frozen to work on.
Q: What if you used salt on my street?
A: Surprisingly, this wouldn’t be effective in the current conditions. The temperatures are too low for the salt to activate for most of the day, and the layer of ice is too thick. Additionally, without pushing everything off the roads, anything that does melt will refreeze overnight, likely making the road even slicker than it is now.
Q: What about sand?
A: We are using sand mixed with salt along with the heavy equipment. It can be effective in providing traction on thin layers of ice/snow that may remain on pavement after we have plowed. However, sand on top of this ice would not provide much, if any, traction and could just make the roads slicker than before.
Q: So if you can’t really plow, and you can’t salt, and you can’t sand… what are you doing?
A: Great question! We’re sending our heavy-duty equipment to neighborhoods with hills and/or sharp curves that are making it difficult to drive safely. We’re slowly plowing those roads and then putting down salt or the 50/50 sand-salt mixture to add more traction once the plow is down to the pavement. It’s a strategic approach that tackles the bigger roads that go through neighborhoods so that there is a safe entrance/exit. You may need to SLOWLY drive on top of the layer on your street in order to reach these cleared roads.
We’re also addressing areas where plowing on the main roads blocked side streets with a large pile of ice.
Q: My road was plowed, but now there’s a big pile of snow and ice in front of my driveway. What now?
A: Unfortunately, this can happen with plowing operations. To maximize our resources countywide, we are unable to plow out individual driveways.
Please note that we are still working closely with Fire and Police to make sure that emergency services are able to make it to you, no matter where you are in the county.
I know we keep saying this, but it’s worth reiterating in every post: we truly appreciate everyone’s patience as we tackle this.
P.S. A little off-topic for us, but to reiterate a message from Henrico County Police, PLEASE do not go out on the lakes and ponds even if you think they’re frozen over!
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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