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Warm weather might have melted most of the snow on the ground, but it hasn’t calmed down those who drove in Sunday’s snowstorm.
The region saw upward of seven inches of snow, but the biggest issues occurred on the roads, where there were a reported 881 accidents and 456 disabled vehicles in Virginia — including a tractor-trailer accident that closed down a lane on I-81 for several hours.
Leading up to the storm, roads were not pretreated with chemicals, which some point to as the reason for road conditions.
“We knew this storm was coming, and I feel like if they took precautionary measures, it wouldn’t have taken them that long to clear the roads,” said Libby Bish, a senior marketing major. “I definitely think they did not plan ahead.”
Bish was driving back to Blacksburg from Gatlinburg, Tenn., which is normally a three-hour drive. However, due to the conditions, the drive took 11 hours.
“We passed one tractor-trailer accident where a truck was literally parallel over the median,” Bish said. “But we kept driving — it was only a 20-minute back up — and then we came to a complete stop. We were low on gas, so we turned off our car because we didn’t think it would be that long, but it ended up being five and a half hours with our car off.”
Bish also said in that time waiting, she saw one plow truck, and it was only there for the emergency vehicle.
Jason Bond, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said roads were not pretreated because reports stated the storm was going to start as a rain event, and VDOT does not use chemicals when that’s the case.
Virginia Tech has a similar policy, citing that rain would wash away any prior work done.
“If you pretreat, which we do with salt or some other salt chemical, on the roads, and it’s a rain storm first, you’ve just wasted your money,” said Mark Helms, the Facilities Operations director at Tech.
Because of the unusually temperate winter, VDOT has used little of its $12.3 million budget allocated to snow removal for the Salem, Va. district.
However, the number is an estimate, as snow removal is a small part of VDOT’s overall budget.
“Our overall maintenance budget was $143 million for our district,” Bond said. “We allocate about 10 percent of that to snow removal. It’s not the only budget we have — it’s sort of an earmark of our overall budget.”
“If we were to go over the $12.3 million, we would dip into the other maintenance budget,” he said. “If we are under the $12.3 million, then we would roll that money back into the maintenance budget.”
Tech, on the other hand, doesn’t have a budget specifically allocated to clearing out snow.
“We really have to adapt, so this winter has really been good for us,” Helms said. “If it’s a bad winter, it makes it very difficult on us.”
VDOT uses an independent contractor for snow removal, so how much Sunday’s work will cost the state is unknown. However, Helms said it cost Tech $7,500 to $10,000.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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People were warned as early as Tuesday not to plan travel for the weekend. It makes no sense blaming VDOT when the weather warnings were out there well in advance.
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While it was originally believed that this would be a rain event, as events began to unfold Sunday morning, the changeover from rain to a mix of sleet and snow began not long after precipitation began falling.
However, warm road surface temperatures thanks to Saturday's 58-degree day and temperatures above freezing until Sunday evening meant that it took until about 3pm for snow to really begin accumulating on local roads and for road conditions to deteriorate. Until that point, wet roads would have continued to limit the effectiveness of any road treatment.
Unfortunately, there's not a really good answer to the question "how could road conditions have been improved on Sunday?" If only there were a way for drivers to find out ahead of time about impending inclement weather and make alternate plans for scheduled travel through affected areas.
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Sisone of us have to work.
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In Gatlinburg, TN? That's a whopper of a commute
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Karen you just said what the issue was...VDOT knew as soon as 'Tuesday' that there could be a lot of snow. Don't you think it could have been planned to expect that and be ready to serve the people that had to be on the road and not stuck without moving for 5 1/2 hours? Thought that is why we pay taxes...All that Ms. Bish was pointing out was that they (VDOT) had advance warning and obviously a generous portion of money set aside yet got stuck in traffic for way more that is acceptable. Delays are always expected when traveling in any kind of storm, but not moving for 5.5 hours is unacceptable.
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So what should VDOT have done differently Cody? Clearly you think they could have done better, so I'd love to hear your solution. It's easy to point fingers when you have no idea the logistics that go into the situation.
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You are correct in your statement Lane about not know the logistics. And I am looking at this a little different because I am from a couple states north of here. So from my experience there when they have large storms come thru they are prepped, meaning they have salt/plow trucks every 5 or so miles, so 2 trucks take care of about a 20 mile area (southbound and northbound). No I don't expect that here, because of the lack of snow. What I do expect is when they think that there is going to be a fairly large snow, and then when it starts to snow for 3 straight hours without sticking they had time to be ready to plow and keep traffic moving.
Things don't just shut down in places where they get snow, they are just well prepared. And like I said there are definitely delays, but 5.5 hours is pretty terrible if that traffic is due to roads and not due to accidents.
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Chances are the 5.5 hours was due to an accident. 81 + Snow usually equals jackknifed trucks everywhere, which is a pain to deal with in good conditions and just one truck jackknifed. Add snow and jackknifed trucks at every hill and it's a nightmare.
The bottom line here is keeping roads open in the heights of snowstorms is extremely difficult, especially down this way where VDOT isn't as geared up for snow. Yes, you can pre-treat, which they normally do, but in this situation it would have been a waste of money due to how things remained liquid for so long. Pre-treaments are more intended to prevent ice from forming, not prevent snow from sticking. No pre-treatment can account for heavy snowfall rates which we saw. Snow will fall faster than it will melt. VDOT does their best to keep up, but like you pointed out, they can't be on every mile at every minute, and as soon as an accident happens and traffic slows, the snow piles up faster and the plows can't get there to move it.
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Exactly. Who heads out "low on fuel" into a winter storm?
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Pretreating is one part of the story. Mr. Bond is correct; this was forecast to start as a rain event. However, as the event began Sunday morning, there was only a brief period of light rain before the precipitation switched over to a mix of sleet and snow and then completely snow by 10 am.
Warm road surface temps from Saturday's 58 degree-day (and temperatures above freezing through most of the day Sunday) meant that snow didn't really start accumulating on asphalt until after 3pm. Roads were wet thanks to the melting precipitation, and so pre-treating would have been limited in its effectiveness.
There's not really a good answer here to the question "how could road conditions have been improved?" If only there were a way for people to find out about impending winter weather in advance and make alternate plans for travel through affected areas.
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Seems to me like this Bish person is blaming every else for their own neglect to prepare. You knew for days that this storm was coming. Why plan an interstate drive for the day of a snow storm? Also, KNOWING there was going to be a snow storm and KNOWING you were traveling interstate why let your gas tank get below half tank? Did you have any blankets or snacks? There is so much you could have done to have prevented your unfortunate 11 hour trip? Leave VDOT alone. For the weather we got in a very short period of time I think they did a good job. At 4pm I was driving through Salem, VA. Salem is know for having the cleanest streets during a snow storm. Like stated earlier, it didn't start to accumulate until after 3pm. When it started to accumulate it accumulated fast, so fast that even the streets of Salem, VA were snow covered. YOU (as well as every other driver out there) need to better prepare and just slow down and drive according to the road conditions. I bet most of those 800 and something crashes could have been prevented.
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I couldn't agree more! She should take responsibility for her own stupidity instead of trying to place blame on someone else. When there is a forecast for 6-8 inches of snow, maybe you shouldn't decide to drive in it... especially not without a full tank of gas. VDOT did a wonderful job of clearing the roads from what I saw. Now if only we could just get the general public to do their part by showing even just a little bit of intelligence and responsibility...
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"parallel over the median"
HUH?
Wonder if she knew that she was traveling parallel to the median.
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She meant perpendicular. You should read more closely.
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If I was betting, I'd say odds are good she said parallel and probably thought she was correct in saying it. Whatever the case, she's definitely marketing major material. Who, knowingly, drives into a snowstorm w/o taking proper precautions? Fill your gas tank, pack some food & water, pack some blankets in cold weather, etc. It's common sense.
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She meant perpendicular. You should read more closely.
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...and of course, no one was speeding, or texting, or talking on the phone, or being impatient, aggressive, tailgating. None of that would EVER happen to these upstanding folks. Riiiiiiiight.
Another "not my fault" let's blame the state issues. Come on! I drive 81 daily and I can assure you, as a great drive, I had not a single issue. I knew to leave extra time, leave early and take it slowly. The volume of "jack-arses" blowing past me made my head spin. And that my friends is why so many wrecks. VDOT is 100% correct and accurate. You don't EVER pre-treat if rain is forecast unless you are facing an ice-strom event. They don't do it in Maine, NY or VA just to name a few.
Take some ownership for YOUR own behavior and stop blaming others as usual.
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Sorry but its got to be said - some students are nothing but pathetic, myopic, selfish whiners!
In a time of austerity and cut backs in the state to things like Medicaid and other public services, why should the DOT spend thousands from the coffers to treat roads that will be cleared 24 hours later by nature?Bett
Everyone had plenty of warning - the weather service said we 'might' get 8" of snow. So why didn't little Molly come back back from Mummy and Daddy's house in Arlington on Saturday night, instead partying in DC?
Pathetic - time some of you grew up!
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She was in Tennesse, not DC? You should read more closely next time. And I'm not sure if you understand the meaning of myopic, pathetic, or selfish...since none of them apply to the situation. Maybe you're looking for "observant, concerned, frustrated"?
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Maybe Miss Bish had a good reason to be on 81 at the time of the storm and could not help but be in her situation. Her remarks did not come off as complaining to me, rather a simple explanation of her experience. I find Don's comment and some others to be very pathetic remarks to a situation that they were not exposed to. Additionally, they do not know Libby, nor do they know if she is a "pathetic, myopic, selfish whiner" - which she is not. VDOT is without a doubt a miserable agency that moves at the speed of smell and wastes an incredible amount of money. I happen to know that Miss Bish was prepared for the journey and riding in a vehicle more than capable of handling a mere seven inches of snow. Furthermore, get off the inter-webs and get a job, so you can quite harassing a nice young lady, you jerks.
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Amen, I remember when I used to harass college girls... I beleive it was before my dad got a job.
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I'm sure you have reliable, first hand insight to the inner-workings of VDOT and their response to winter weather to make the same accusations against them as you accuse others of making towards Libby. Hello pot, meet kettle.
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Lane,
Are you familiar with the term government work? One shovel, three people, wasted money, and no results. When it's my tax dollars that pay for snow removal, I expect it to get done and I expect it to get done in a manner that is efficient and keeps Virginia drivers safe. With an operating budget of over $5 billion, this is unacceptable. Any company in the private sector would be out of work if they performed the way VDOT does. This is the downfall of America - people like you who defend the government and accept mediocrity. Enjoy your Prius and dead-end, cubicle job.
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Except that she stated she was low on fuel, so clearly she wasn't prepared. Also, she was on an interstate that is notorious for having serious issues with even a tiny amount of snow, so again, not really prepared. If you have to be out there in inclement weather, it's a good idea to be prepared with foul-weather clothing, water, and sufficient fuel in the vehicle. Staying off of limited access highways is also a good idea.
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No, "VPI Gentleman" (how dare a clown like you call yourself that) you are the downfall of America. It's self-righteous blowhards like you who offend the sensibilities of the rest of us. You, like the hapless Miss Bish go through life with a sense of entitlement that relieves you of any responsibility for your own actions. In your dimly lit existence, bozos like you and Bish charge ahead unwittingly without forethought and planning and when your stupidity gets you in trouble, you find someone or something to blame. You're kidding with the "mere 7 inches of snow" comment, right? And the "could not help but be in her situation" comment is rich. What if she had been tragically killed as a result? Again, she had no other option? Remember, this storm had been forecast for days beforehand.
You're obviously not in the working world- people with attitudes like yours tend to get pigeon holed and forgotten.
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VDOT is always looking to hire people with a wealth of highway knowledge especially snow removal experts
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"Any company in the private sector would be out of work if they performed the way VDOT does."
Private Companies maintain the interstates in VA. Its the law. VDOT has nothing to do with it.
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You people all really need to calm down and stop attacking people trying to defend someone who you know nothing about. Every one of you sounds much more ignorant and immature than every college student on here. While, yes, she may have been unprepared and probably shouldn't have said anything about VDOT, she is allowed to state her opinion, just as you have done in these comments. (However, she sounded much more mature and reasonable than any of you so called adults.)
Also, I'm sure they were serious about the "mere 7 inches of snow" comment because to those of us that have broadened our knowledge and experiences to beyond Virginia know that it could be a lot worse.
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Even if you live in the "snow states" (Colorado, No. Mich, No. Wisc, No. MN, etc) 7 inches of snow is formidable, especially if you are going to drive in it. Add to the equation that it's in Tenn & Va, where people freak at the hint of a snowflake and no one knows how to drive in it, and you soon realize that if you choose to take a 3.5 hr. car trip, you're probably going to have problems. Problems that you can't lay on VDOT. I have broadened my experiences beyond Virginia, that's how I know this. And if you make a conscious decision to drive in it and it takes you 11 hours, next time you may think "maybe I'll just wait until it stops snowing and they clear the roads before I get in the car."
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Private Companies maintain the interstates in VA. Its the law. VDOT has nothing to do with it.
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Does anyone on this website understand the concept of contracting out work? These private companies that plow the roads in Virginia are contracted out by the government (ie: VDOT). It is the state government's responsibility to ensure that these companies are up to snuff. And they're not. The whole damn system should be redone. Anyone who stands up for the government and their actions is a spinless liberal. Expect results from your tax dollars. Snowman, I've got some news for you brother. I run my own business as well as build some of the largest office buildings on the east coast. I'm damn good at what I do and fire people like you on a daily basis because they don't appreciate the drive of hard work and are satisfied with the status quo. Contrary to what you think, people like me are the driving force behind the American dream and are among the top contributors to the American dream. I'll work all y'all under the table and I expect every working American to try and keep up. Get out of the welfare line, grow a pair, get off your high horse and realize that it takes some initiative and a disregard for authority to make it anywhere in this world. Nobama 2012.
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VPI/CPI Gentleman or whatever you are, you're judgement is obviously clouded by your anger with the Government and with O'Bama. Remember, you are slamming the good conservative Republican gov't of Virginia. Maybe they're too busy debating legislation on how many guns you should be able to buy in 1 month or whether it's a crime to urinate in public to pay attention to VDOT's workings.
BTW, I'm not your brother. If you're firing people on a daily basis you either have no idea what you're doing when you hire someone or you're just exaggerating for effect. I think it's probably a little of both. You sound like a John Boehner kind of cry baby with the inherent anger that allows people like him to destroy this country in the name of political gain.
And I doubt you'll work "all y'all under the table".
Not that I call myself a Democrat or Rebuplican, but O'Bama is probably going to get re-elected because people like you are lazy and stereotypical in their thinking and fail to see the real issues this country is concerned about.
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