Sunday snowfall creates hazardous roads for the Shenandoah Valley

For the second straight Sunday, a winter storm is bringing snow to the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands.

Roadways are already slick during the early morning hours and several more inches of accumulation are expected. Snowfall could be heavy at times, reducing visibility and causing rapid changes to road conditions. The Virginia Department of Transportation urges motorists to avoid non-essential travel.

VDOT crews and contractors are plowing roadways throughout the 11-county Staunton District. They work around the clock on revolving 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.

Continually updated road conditions are available at www.511Virginia.org. The website offers color-coded maps as well as county-by-county road conditions under the “Text Views” tab.

Here are the road conditions as of 6 a.m. Sunday in the VDOT Staunton District:

• Interstate 64 – Moderate conditions in Alleghany and Rockbridge counties. Minor conditions in Augusta County.
• Interstate 66 – Minor conditions in Warren County.
• Interstate 81 – Moderate conditions in Rockbridge and Shenandoah counties. Minor conditions in Augusta and Rockingham counties. Clear conditions in Frederick County.
• Primary roads – Moderate conditions in Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page and Shenandoah counties. Minor conditions in Frederick, Clarke and Warren counties.
• Secondary roads – Moderate conditions in Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page and Shenandoah counties. Minor conditions in Frederick, Clarke and Warren counties.

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

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