VDOT News - Staunton

STAUNTON – Spring-like conditions will step aside for a reappearance of winter weather on Saturday, March 11.  During the morning heavy rain turning to heavy snow is expected, followed by high winds with bitter temperatures. People should avoid traveling in the Shenandoah Valley area during the storm. Heavy slush and snow on roads is expected throughout the region, with more snow accumulating on ridge-tops.

High winds could cause branches and trees to fall on some roads.  Drivers should be alert for changing road conditions and areas of debris. Sub-freezing temperatures are forecasted for Saturday night into Sunday.  Any water on road surfaces will freeze creating slick driving conditions.

Virginia Department of Transportation Staunton District crews will be deployed on Friday night into Saturday to monitor and clear roads as conditions warrant.  Tree crews are on standby and wreckers will be pre-staged in several areas. VDOT crews will remain on duty until the storm and any resulting road conditions are concluded.

VDOT advises checking the Virginia 511 system at http://www.511Virginia.org prior to travel. Downed power lines and downed trees may have closed some roadways or caused delays across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Always drive defensively and use a seatbelt. Daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 12 and will appear in 511 time-stamps on traffic alerts.

Road conditions and traffic cameras can be found on the VDOT 511 website at http://www.511Virginia.org, Roads with snow conditions will be 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.

For a text listing of winter weather road conditions go to http://www.511Virginia.org, look at the orange bar on the top of the page and click on “Text Views” and then click on “Road Condition Table”. Look at the pull down box that lists all jurisdictions.  In this box individual counties can be chosen to view.

On the go?  Then visit VDOT’s Free Virginia 511 Tools to get your 511 app for android or iOS. Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511.

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

VDOT statewide Twitter messages can be found at @VaDOT. The nine districts can be found at:Hampton Roads  @VaDOTHR; Richmond @VaDOTRVA; Northern Virginia @VaDOTNOVA;  Fredericksburg @VaDOTFred; Culpeper @VaDOTCulp; Lynchburg  @VaDOTLynchburg; Bristol @VaDOTBristol; Salem @VaDOTSalem; Staunton  @VaDOTStaunton.

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.

(END)

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.