At the top of Virginia Department of Transportation’s homepage this week is a large headline from their press team that reads: “Crews continue to clear primary and secondary roads.”
Can’t blame them for that. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and the state’s snowplow force under his watch at VDOT were slammed with an avalanche of criticism after drivers, including Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), became stuck on I-95 overnight following what VDOT calls an “unprecedented snowfall” on Monday.
Some reports say hundreds of drivers were left stranded on the interstate north of Richmond, while others say it was thousands. Whatever the number, it was enough to generate plenty of complaints on social media and elsewhere.
After Kaine finally made it to D.C. — typically a two-hour trip that turned into 27 — he called his time on the interstate a “miserable experience.” At one point during his ordeal he Tweeted that he was “frustrated, but not in serious trouble.”
The Virginia Department of Transportation posted several warnings online about the state's first winter storm including this one on Jan. 2, the day before the storm: VDOT
In an interview with The Washington Post, Northam chastised drivers for venturing out in rough weather, many of whom were commuting to work like Kaine. The massive back-up started Monday morning following vehicle crashes north of Richmond.
"We gave warnings, and people need to pay attention to these warnings, and the less people that are on the highways when these storms hit, the better," Northam, a Democrat, told The Washington Post.
