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VDOT prepared for heavy snow in Shenandoah Valley

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snow roadHeavy snow is predicted for the Shenandoah Valley, beginning late on Monday afternoon and will continue throughout the night. People should prepare to avoid travel and shelter in place during the storm. The Virginia Department of Transportation advises the public to plan their travel now before Monday afternoon commuting hours to ensure they are at a destination where travel will not be necessary late Monday.

VDOT and contractor crews have spent Sunday preparing for the storm.  Anti-icing operations began early on Sunday morning in the Shenandoah Valley. Crews will be deployed and staged on Monday prior to the precipitation beginning. VDOT has enough materials and chemicals to treat area roads throughout the weather event.

Road temperatures are forecasted to be above freezing when the snow begins. Initially snow may just melt on the road surfaces, but elevated surfaces such as ramps and bridges will freeze first and extra caution should be used when traveling in these areas.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has a variety of road condition and information resources.

New this snow season is the My VDOT site which is the web and mobile device interactive platform for the VDOT Customer Service Center.  People can go to My.VDOT.Virginia.Gov and report road hazards, ask transportation questions, or get information related to Virginia’s roads. 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).

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 also are available at http://www.511Virginia.org. On the go?  Then visit VDOT’sFree Virginia 511 Tools to get your 511 app for android or iOS. Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511.

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.

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

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 VirginiaDOT.org.

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