With winter weather anticipated to impact portions of western Virginia, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is advising drivers to plan now for travel as they may encounter slick, snow-covered roads, particularly overnight on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and into morning commute hours on Thursday, Jan. 28.
Rain is expected to transition to heavy snow which may accumulate on roads particularly in the New River Valley and higher elevations. With the weather event starting as rain, VDOT crews and contractors will not apply brine to roads ahead of this storm as any pretreatment would wash off and not be effective.
When the snow first starts, drivers should pay particular attention to bridges and overpasses, which may become slick first. VDOT snowplow operators will be monitoring conditions tonight to begin treating and plowing roads when the winter precipitation starts.
The interstate and primary roads (those numbered 1-599) are VDOT’s top priority for snow removal during a weather event. As long as the snow continues to fall, snowplow operators will be making multiple passes over these main routes and not working on low-volume secondary routes (those numbered 600 and above) or neighborhood streets.
Travelers can get real-time information on road conditions, traffic incidents and congestion on Virginia roads by using VDOT’s 511 free mobile app or the www.511Virginia.org website and phone system, which can help travelers plan their routes accordingly.
The Salem District includes the counties of Bedford, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, and Roanoke.
