VDOT prepared for winter weather

True, winter weather may be one of the last things on everyone’s mind, VDOT says that their crews have been preparing for winter road conditions and when the first flakes fall, they’re ready to go.

“Our top priority is the safety of those on our roadways. The Commonwealth has more than 128,000 miles of state-maintained roads and bridges, so we prepare year-round to keep Virginia moving when winter weather arrives. Our crews are trained, experienced and equipped to handle snow and ice before and after it hits the ground.”

KEVIN GREGG, CHIEF OF MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FOR VDOT

Being at the ready means lots of pre-winter planning. For instance:

• $211 million has been earmarked for winter weather.
• More than 2,500 VDOT crew members and additional contractors are available for snow removal across the Commonwealth.
• More than 11,300 pieces of snow-removal equipment are on standby – including trucks, loads and motor graders.
• More than 690,000 tons of salt, sand, and treated abrasives and more than 2.1 million gallons of liquid calcium chloride and salt brine are also ready to go.

This winter, VDOT is once again activating its online snowplow tracking map.

Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology is operational and installed on all VDOT-owned and contracted plows that allow them to be monitored on the snowplow tracker which can be found by clicking here.

When the weather takes a nasty turn, motorists are encouraged to visit 511Virginia.org or call 511 for updated road conditions and potential traffic hazards before you travel.

source: WXFTtv.com