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Snow is forecast for the D.C. area this weekend, leading to delays Thursday on Interstate 95 as roads are treated to keep ice off major highways.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said trucks will be pretreating the highway with brine from Quantico to Hannover County, by Kings Dominion. Crews will start pretreating more than 300 lane miles of I-95 Thursday morning, covering ramps and overpasses in the Fredericksburg area.
Both northbound and southbound lanes will be delayed as the brine trucks and crash-cushion vehicles are escorted by Virginia State Police on the highway. Drivers will have to yield to the operation and not pass these vehicles as they move much slower than the speed limit.
The transportation department will begin treating primary roads in Stafford, Spotsylvania and Caroline counties on Friday.
Pretreatment should help prevent ice from bonding to the pavement during the storms this weekend, but VDOT warns drivers that pretreated road conditions can still be hazardous when there is ice and snow.
To check real-time road conditions along your route before starting a trip anywhere in Virginia, you can call 511, visit 511Virginia.org or download the free Virginia 511 mobile app.
The transportation agency is being extra cautious after a snowstorm two years ago left drivers stranded for hours on I-95 in the Fredericksburg area. A report released in August 2023 by Virginia’s inspector general revealed glaring missteps by state agencies during the incident.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
