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Hundreds of Drivers on I-95 in Virginia Stranded in Freezing Temperatures
The heavy snow blanketing Virginia caused hundreds of drivers to be stranded on Interstate 95, including Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine, who used to be the state’s former governor.
A lot of drivers are stuck on a 50-mile stretch of the highway that runs along the eastern United States. This happened following a pile-up of six tractor-trailers. On Tuesday, authorities are still attempting to reach the said people.
According to the Associated Press, both directors of traffic on the Interstate 95 came to a halt on Monday between Ruther Glen, Virginia, and exit 152 in Dumfries. According to the state’s Department of Transportation, in a tweet posted at 5:20 a.m., “Crews will start taking people off at any available interchange to get them.”
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam posted a tweet, saying that his team has responded through the night with the state police as well as transportation and emergency management officials. He went on to say: “An emergency message is going to all stranded drivers connecting them to support, and the state is working with localities to open warming shelters as needed. While sunlight is expected to help @VaDOT clear the road, all Virginians should continue to avoid 1-95,” he added.
Crews were hard at work to remove the trucks, plow snow, remove ice from the roadway, and direct stranded motorists to the nearest exits.
“We know many travelers have been stuck on Interstate 95 in our region for extraordinary periods of time over the past 24 hours, in some cases since Monday morning,” Marcie Parker, a Fredericksburg District engineer stated, per the AP report. “This is unprecedented, and we continue to steadily move stopped trucks to make progress toward restoring lanes.”
“In addition to clearing the trucks, we are treating for snow and several inches of ice that has accumulated around them to ensure that when the lanes reopen, motorists can safely proceed to their destination,” she went on to say.
According to AP, people with their mobile phones have been making desperate posts online about running out of food, water, and fuel.
The collision involving tractor-trailers on Monday resulted in zero injuries but brought traffic to a halt. It then became impossible to move as the snow piled up.
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