Winter storm prep: VDOT brine trucks pre-treat highways, prioritize key routes
Preparations are underway across the DMV ahead of the winter storm heading this way on Saturday and Sunday.
FOX 5 followed behind some of the Virginia Department of Transportation trucks Thursday that were out pre-treating the roads.
On I-95 northbound near Stafford, you will notice that a salt brine solution is on the roads to prevent ice from sticking to the ground.
Winter storm prep: VDOT trucks pre-treat highways, prioritize key routes
Brine trucks are busy pre-treating more than 300 miles of the interstate, ramps, and overpasses from Hannover County to Quantico.
"Our priority is always to treat and plow the roads that are the nearest to the interstates, the primary road that leads to major hospitals and centers," said Kelly Hannon, communications manager for the Fredericksburg district for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Snow forecast: Here’s how much DC, Maryland & Virginia can expect from this weekend’s winter storm
A weekend winter storm that could potentially bring significant snow accumulations to the mountains north and west of the nation’s capital will likely only leave a trace behind in the Washington, D.C. metro area before transitioning to rain. Here’s how much snow parts of the D.C. metro area, Maryland, and Virginia might see this weekend.
Similar work will be done on Friday for more residential areas.
And with it being our first winter storm since January 2022, the department says they have crews ready to go.
"We can call in as much as a thousand people, but it sounds like at this time we may not need them at that level," Hannon said.
The department is also hoping to avoid another debacle on I-95.
I-95 Shutdown: Vehicles turn around, drive wrong way to avoid getting stuck in I-95 traffic
SKYFOX captured images that appeared to show drivers turning around on parts of Interstate 95 in Virginia to escape traffic that kept some motorists trapped on the highway overnight.
Two years ago, seven inches of snow left drivers stranded for hours on the interstate in Fredericksburg.
In August 2023, a report from Virginia’s inspector general revealed what went wrong during that incident.
READ MORE: DMV Winter 2023-2024 Outlook: Why we're expecting more snow, chance for blizzards in DC this winter
But VDOT says they’ve learned from those mistakes and are working to give drivers better updates on real-time conditions.
"We definitely try to learn from it," Hannon said.
As far as other parts of the DMV, Route One in Fredericksburg will be pre-treated Friday.
Parts of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties will begin pre-treatment at midnight on Thursday.
D.C. will begin salting their roads on Thursday evening for snow emergency routes and parts of Maryland have already started to put brine down on the roads.