New snow creates new travel challenges in the Shenandoah Valley Saturday morning

STAUNTON – (5:45 a.m.) Additional snow fell Friday night and early Saturday morning across the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands. This has created slippery conditions on all types of roadways, including interstates and primary routes. The Virginia Department of Transportation advises motorists to delay travel until later in the day or Sunday, when roads could benefit from snow-removal efforts, sunshine and higher temperatures. 

Some neighborhood streets and other secondary routes have icy patches remaining from the previous winter storm. The new snow may hide those patches, and drivers should be extremely cautious.

VDOT crews continue to work around the clock to plow and treat roadways where needed, with an initial focus 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 responsible for snow removal on all state-maintained roads as follows: 

• The Interstate Highway System and limited-access roadways are VDOT’s first priority.  
• Primary roads (routes numbered 1 to 599) and major secondary routes (numbered 600 and up) with vital emergency and public facilities, or those with high-traffic volumes, will be cleared along with interstate and limited-access roadways as resources allow.  
• Low-volume secondary roads and subdivision streets will be treated after higher-priority routes are completed and additional resources are available. 

For road information, check 511 at its updated URL and website: https://511.vdot.virginia.gov/. Apps for Virginia’s 511 system are also available for Android and iOS devices. 511 has traffic cameras, current crash locations, weather conditions and more. The public can sign-up for 511 alerts to be sent to their personal device. Roads with snow and ice conditions are marked minor, moderate, severe or closed.

Road condition definitions:

• Closed – Road is closed to all traffic.
• 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.  Driving with caution is recommended.

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

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).

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

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