VDOT News - Staunton

STAUNTON – (4 a.m.) Snow from a major winter storm is overspreading the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands on Thursday morning, covering roadways throughout the region. Snowfall will be heavy at times – one to two inches per hour – hampering visibility and making travel extremely dangerous. The Virginia Department of Transportation urges motorists to postpone all but emergency trips.

Snow is expected to gradually give way to sleet and freezing rain, creating icy conditions Thursday afternoon into Friday. VDOT crews and contractors are plowing and treating roads throughout the 11-county Staunton District, and will continue 24/7 on rotating 12-hour shifts.

VDOT first plows interstates, primary roads and major secondary roads with vital emergency and public facilities, or those with high traffic volumes. Secondary roads and subdivision streets are treated in the event of a multi-day storm, but crews focus initially on roadways that are traveled most.

Road conditions will change rapidly throughout the day on Thursday. Here are the conditions as of 4 a.m.:

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

Interstate 66 – Clear conditions in Warren County.

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

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

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

Visit 511Virginia.org to view pavement temperatures, traffic cameras and color-coded maps of road conditions. For conditions in your specific county, click on the “Text Views” tab and choose Road Conditions Table on the down-down menu.

On the go? Then visit VDOT’s Free Virginia 511 Tools to get your 511 app for Android or iOS devices. Obtain traffic alerts and traveler information by dialing 511.

The Staunton District Snow Page is on the VDOT website under Travel Center Snow Emergency Pages. The Staunton District Twitter feed is at @VaDOTStaunton.

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

VDOT can be followed on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube. RSS feeds are also available for statewide information. The VDOT Web page is located at http://www.VirginiaDOT.org.

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

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Road condition definitions:
Severe – drifting or partially blocked road.
Moderate – snow or ice on major portions of the roadway.
Minor – bare pavement except for isolated spots of snow, ice or slush.

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Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.