NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) — The official start to winter is on December 21st, but the Virginia Department of Transportation crews said they are ready for possible snow.
On Tuesday, VDOT workers said they’re prepared and have been for months.
For the 2018-2019 Hampton Roads snow season, VDOT has a snow budget of $8.4 million.
“Whether it’s twelve inches or one inch we will fight it appropriately and do the best we can,” said Hampton Roads District Maintenance Manager William Collier.
Collier said for months, crews have done test runs and checked equipment and they have plenty of supplies in stock. VDOT officials said they have about 25 thousand tons of salt, about 15 thousand tons of sand and 168 thousand gallons of salt brine.
The maintenance manager said last year’s big snow storm taught them valuable lessons.
“The bigger the snow storm the longer the duration so we have to deal with equipment breakdowns checking equipment and whatever breaks down having the right spare parts on hand,” explained Collier.
VDOT’s goal is to have all state roads passable within 48 hours after the storm ends and its advice for drivers is to not go out in a bad storm and to be patient with crews out plowing the roads.