Winter weather expected to impact travel in Shenandoah Valley on Wednesday

The Virginia Department of Transportation is gearing up for snow forecast for the Shenandoah Valley on Wednesday, which is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year. Many areas of western Virginia could receive at least three inches of snow, with additional accumulation in the higher elevations. Drivers are advised to consider altering their travel schedule to avoid slippery conditions and to give crews room to safely clear the roads.

Rain is expected to precede the snowfall early Wednesday morning, so anti-icing treatments would not be effective. VDOT crews and contractors will be on standby to plow and treat roadways, beginning with interstates and primary routes. Motorists should use extra caution on bridges, overpasses and untreated surfaces where ice and snow is most likely to accumulate.

VDOT’s Safety Service Patrol is adding additional units on Wednesday to assist with incident management on Interstates 81, 64 and 66. The Northwest Regional Traffic Operations Center will be at full staffing throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

For winter weather road conditions go to 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.

Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511. Traffic alerts and traveler information also are available at 511Virginia.org. For other assistance call the VDOT Customer Service Center, available 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Citizens can dial 1-800-FOR- ROAD (1-800-367-7623) from anywhere in the state to report road hazards, ask transportation questions, or get information related to Virginia’s roads.

The Staunton District Twitter feed is at @VaDOTStaunton. VDOT can be followed on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter andYouTube. 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.