The Virginia Department of Transportation is still picking up trees and branches downed by the January storm that left many drivers stranded on Interstate 95, and the work is expected to continue until June.
VDOT said in a news release Tuesday that it has 20 crews working seven days a week collecting debris along state-maintained roads in its 14-county Fredericksburg district. The district includes Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties in the Fredericksburg area.
“We have about 1.2 million cubic yards of debris to pick up from the January 3rd snowstorm,” said VDOT spokesperson Kelly Hannon.
It’s stuff that VDOT initially moved out of roadways and onto road shoulders and medians to clear the way for traffic.
Hannon said with the cleanup effort, they’re tackling the roads that carry the most traffic first.
Debris pickup along I-95 is expected to take another two or three weeks, but similar work is needed along more than 700 secondary roads in five counties.
“We know residents and travelers are eager to have roadside debris removed from routes in their communities, and our crews are working urgently to make progress each day to pick up debris, mile by mile,” Joyce McGowan, VDOT assistant district administrator for maintenance in the Fredericksburg District, said in a statement.
“We will not stop until we have reached every state-maintained road to gather storm debris. We appreciate the region’s patience as we steadily work toward reaching all of our affected routes.”
VDOT says drivers should be alert for mobile work zones and slow-moving equipment.
