VDOT News - Culpeper

CULPEPER — An extended period of freezing rain has coated many central Virginia roads with a layer of accumulated ice, making driving inadvisable early Tuesday morning. The Virginia Department of Transportation encourages motorists to postpone travel today until temperatures warm and improve road conditions.

As of 5 a.m., road conditions are reported as follows:

• Interstate 64 and I-66 – Clear with some patches of black ice.
• Primary highways – Reported to be ice-covered in Albemarle, Louisa and Rappahannock. Otherwise, mostly clear of snow but with numerous patches of black ice in the travel lanes as well as along the shoulders, on turn lanes and intersections.
• Secondary highways (numbered 600 and above) – Mostly plowed but snow-packed and extremely slick.

VDOT crews are working around the clock to keep major highways passable. Plowing is not effective on the ice so plow operators are primarily spreading a mix of sand and salt to provide traction and help melt frozen precipitation on the roads. However, even treated roads are dangerously slick in places.

Real-time road conditions and traffic camera feeds are online at 511Virginia.org. You can also call 511 for road condition information. Details about VDOT’s winter-weather preparations and response can be found at www.virginiadot.org/travel/snow.asp.

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