“Snowy Saturday Surprises: Navigating the Travel Hurdles in Staunton District’s Shenandoah Valley”

STAUNTON – (5:45 a.m.) Fresh snowfall occurred Friday night and early Saturday morning throughout the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands. This has resulted in hazardous conditions on all kinds of roadways, encompassing interstates and primary routes. The Virginia Department of Transportation recommends that travelers postpone their trips until later in the day or Sunday, as roads may improve with snow removal efforts, sunlight, and milder temperatures.

Several neighborhood streets and additional secondary routes still have icy sections from the prior winter storm. The newly fallen snow may obscure these areas, thus drivers should exercise extraordinary caution.

VDOT teams are persistently working around the clock to clear and treat roads where necessary, initially concentrating on interstates and primary routes. Here are the road conditions as of 5:45 a.m. Saturday in the VDOT Staunton District:

Interstate 64 – Minor conditions in Alleghany, Rockbridge, and Augusta counties.

Interstate 66 – Minor conditions in Warren County.

Interstate 81 – Minor conditions in Rockbridge, Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Frederick counties.

Primary roads – Moderate conditions in Alleghany County. Minor conditions in Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke, and Warren counties.

Secondary roads – Moderate conditions in Alleghany, Bath, and Rockbridge counties. Minor conditions in Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke, and Warren counties.

VDOT is charged with snow removal on all state-maintained roads as follows:

• The Interstate Highway System and limited-access roadways take priority for VDOT. 
• Primary roads (routes numbered 1 to 599) and significant secondary routes (numbered 600 and higher) with critical emergency and public facilities, or high-traffic volumes, will be cleared in conjunction with interstate and limited-access roadways as resources permit. 
• Secondary roads with low traffic volumes and subdivision streets will be addressed after the higher-priority routes are finished and additional resources are accessible.

For road information, please check 511 at its updated URL and website: https://511.vdot.virginia.gov/. Applications for Virginia’s 511 system are also available on Android and iOS devices. 511 provides traffic cameras, current accident locations, weather conditions, and more. The public can subscribe to 511 alerts that will be sent to their personal devices. Roads affected by snow and ice are categorized as minor, moderate, severe, or closed.

Definitions of road conditions:

• Closed – The road is closed to all vehicles.
• Severe – Drifting or partially obstructed road.
• Moderate – Snow or ice covering significant sections of the roadway.
• Minor – Bare pavement except for isolated areas of snow, ice, or slush. Caution is advised while driving.

Another source of information is the VDOT website: https://www.vdot.virginia.gov, which features a dedicated weather travel page.

The VDOT Customer Service Center can be accessed via its mobile-friendly website at https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/. Agents are available 24/7 every day of the year to assist the public. Individuals can also contact the VDOT Customer Service Center at 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623).

The Staunton District X (Twitter) feed can be found at @VaDOTStaunton. The VDOT Staunton District manages a group page on Facebook. Follow statewide VDOT accounts on Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. Links to all of VDOT’s statewide and district social media channels can be found here.

The VDOT Staunton District serves Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke, Warren, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, Alleghany, and Bath counties.