How Virginia's I-95 fiasco led to a 93-year-old driver's 39-hour odyssey

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Could that be because the current leadership of Virginia is all-Democratic?

Plowing the Interstate highway is not a federal function. The plows are sent out by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Virginia officials apologize to stranded I-95 motorists, defend storm prep amid criticism

BY: GRAHAM MOOMAW - JANUARY 4, 2022 3:34 PM



The view from Interstate 95 near Exit 137.8, south of Fredericksburg, where New York resident Alison Bradshaw was stuck with her family. (Alison Bradshaw via Prince William Times)

A spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation offered an apology Tuesday to the countless people stranded overnight on Interstate 95 during Monday’s snowstorm. But officials involved in the emergency response insisted there was little they could have done differently to prevent the crisis on a heavily-travelled, 40-mile stretch of highway in Northern Virginia.

“We really understand that people face very stressful, scary situations,” Kelly Hannon, a spokeswoman for VDOT’s Fredericksburg office, told reporters on a conference call. “And we do apologize and we’ll be taking an exhaustive look at this incident.”

Dozens of people trapped on the highway took to social media to share stories about getting stuck in their cars for hours with limited gas, food and water and little information about what was being done to help. Among them was U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who said he had started what is usually a two-hour drive to Washington early Monday afternoon and was still in the car 19 hours later.

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A winter storm {stranded} thousands of drivers and passengers on Interstate 95 overnight Monday and into Tuesday. (Virginia Department of Transportation)

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This post has been updated to add additional remarks from a news conference by the governor later in the day.

GRAHAM MOOMAW
A veteran Virginia politics reporter, Graham grew up in Hillsville and Lynchburg, graduating from James Madison University and earning a master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. Before joining the Mercury in 2019, he spent six years at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, most of that time covering the governor's office, the General Assembly and state politics. He also covered city hall and politics at The Daily Progress in Charlottesville. Contact him at [e-mail]