Diligent and continual plowing and salting on interstates and other first priority routes has most major thoroughfares passable in the Mountain State, allowing the West Virginia Division of Highways to switch to clearing Priority 2 and Priority 3 routes around the state.
A major winter storm moved into West Virginia during the evening of Saturday, January 24. When a major storm hits, WVDOH road crews first concentrate on clearing interstates and other major highways, with a goal of making major arteries passable with cautious driving.
All roads maintained by the WVDOH fit into one of four priorities and are addressed as storm conditions dictate. Once Priority 1 routes are accessible, they move to Priority 2 and 3 routes. But if snow returns, they return to the Priority 1 routes.
- Priority 1 routes include interstate, expressway, National Highway System and all other United States and West Virginia routes. Some Priority 1 routes also include high-traffic county routes.
- Priority 2 routes are all other school bus routes that are not considered Priority 1.
- Priority 3 routes are the remaining routes, not including park and forest routes.
- Priority 4 routes are park and forest routes.
WVDOH road crews began pretreating roads with brine and beet juice on Thursday, January 22. Pretreatment makes it harder for snow to stick to the road, makes it easier for salt to stick and makes it easier to plow away snowfall.
Pretreating and an aggressive salting and plowing campaign had most Priority 1 routes passable by Sunday, January 25. But plummeting temperatures from Sunday into Monday brought a new challenge: ice.
Ice is both harder to remove than snow and less responsive to salt and other melting agents. So WVDOH road crews brought in the heavy artillery for ice removal and heavy snow, in the form of road graders.
“We have four-wheel-drive graders and six-wheel-drive graders,” said Nathan Thomas, WVDOH Deputy State Highway Engineer in charge of Operations. “You put chains on an all-wheel grader, and it will go anywhere.”
Beginning Monday, January 26, WVDOH road crews had moved away from Priority 1 routes and were attacking Priority 2 and Priority 3 routes with a combination of graders and snowplows.
“We have moved Snow Removal and Ice Control efforts to our second and third priority routes throughout the state,” Thomas said. “Our plow truck operators are working diligently to plow these routes now.”
With work continuing in all 55 counties across the state, the West Virginia Division of Highways and the West Virginia Department of Transportation remind the public of the importance of keeping everyone safe in work zones.
