VDOT to drivers: Delay your Monday morning commute

Roads in Northern Virginia pretreated for ice, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Drivers are urged to delay their trek into work Monday by at least a few hours to allow highway crews the opportunity to continue to treat roads during the morning rush hour.

“We ask drivers to plan ahead and to use extreme caution if they must drive,” stated Branco Vlacich, VDOT assistant district administrator for maintenance in a press release. “The pretreatment crews have laid will help, but with pavement temperatures below freezing, we will need to treat icy conditions repeatedly during this hours-long storm.”

About 1,450 trucks will be out on area roadways overnight treating roads throughout the area. The rain is expected to begin any time after midnight, and is expected to freeze on contact with the ground surface creating slippery conditions are expected during the early morning hours Monday. Much of the freezing rain is expected to changeover to all rain by late morning.

Highway crews spent time over the weekend pre-treating major roads in Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington counties, in advance of the storm.

VDOT says bridges and highway on-ramps are especially prone to freezing. Ramps at the Springfield interchange, at Interstate 66 and Route 29, and at the Capital Beltway and Route 1 in Alexandria were all treated with a special mixture of magnesium chloride.

Major routes like Fairfax County Parkway, and Routes 1, 7, 28, 29, 50, and 123 were all treated with a salt brine mix.

Drivers are urged to check VDOT’s website for road conditions prior to beginning their trip on Monday