WASHINGTON — Virginia is ready for whatever snow could come late Sunday into Monday, transportation officials said Wednesday, even though they hope the storm stays to the south of the state.
“We’re prepared. We will see what the weather holds; obviously there are some forecasts that don’t look very promising at this point, but that’s a little ways out,” Virginia Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Rob Cary said.
As of midday Wednesday, the forecast put the odds of more than an inch of snow in the Washington area at around 40 percent, but chances were higher for a foot or more of snow in the southwestern portion of the state.
“We are definitely prepared for whatever comes. Hopefully, it will veer south — no ill will on our neighbor states,” Cary said.
VDOT is coordinating with the state police and the Department of Emergency Management to prepare for the storm, and hopes to determine Friday whether plows or other equipment and personnel need to be shifted from one part of the state to another.
In Fredericksburg, “pre-treatment of I-95 will be underway between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6,” VDOT said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.
VDOT crews will treat primary roads on Friday, Dec. 7 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m..
“We are prepared for whatever comes at us. Hopefully it will be less, not more, because that’s money that just goes away,” Cary said.
The state has already spent more than $45 million this year on transportation cleanup and road repairs alone due to damage from hurricanes.
Weather response costs could cut into the opportunity to boost paving, mowing and other projects across the state that might otherwise have been funded.
