I-95 cleanup complete but Va. crews still clearing debris from January’s winter storm
More than four months after a winter storm shut down a large stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia, officials say they have finally finished the clean-up effort on the state highway — but work on secondary roads remains to be done.
Downed trees and other debris caused by the storm have been removed from the Fredericksburg area of I-95, the Virginia Department of Transportation said Friday.
VDOT said it is now turning its attention to primary and secondary roads in the following counties:
- Caroline
- King George
- Spotsylvania
- Stafford
So far, VDOT said, cleanup operations have been completed for 75% of primary routes. But only around 20% of secondary routes — routes numbered 600 and above — have been finished.
VDOT said debris has been identified along more than 840 secondary roads in four affected counties that the transportation department is focusing more heavily on. Roughly a dozen crews are collecting the debris within the state’s right-of-way in those counties, according to transportation officials.
Drivers should be mindful of mobile work zones and lane closures during those cleanups.
The Jan. 3 winter storm caused a miles-long gridlock on I-95 due to a combination of untreated roads, multiple jack-knifed tractor-trailers and spun-out cars, as well as a deep freeze that evening that hardened the heavy, wet snow into ice.
Many drivers were stranded in their cars for roughly a day before work crews could unearth them and get traffic moving — which then created severe traffic jams on side roads.