WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Virginia is examining its snow and ice policies to fix what went wrong after an ice storm Tuesday paralyzed the Washington region’s highway system and kept some motorists stuck for five hours.

When freezing rain began to accumulate at the start of rush hour, the ensuing dozens of accidents devastated major arteries and left agencies throughout the region reassessing the adequacy of their response.

“This was a perfect storm with the type of freezing that took place, the time of day it hit and the lack of advance notice that would have allowed a better response,” Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner David S. Ekern said.

The state is creating a team of 12 salt trucks and four liquid magnesium trucks to be stationed at the Springfield Mixing Bowl when ice is forecast.

Even at full strength, the Virginia State Police and Maryland Highway Administration struggled to clear key roads facing dangerous, icy conditions at their busiest time. The Mixing Bowl, a key interchange, was shut after a series of crashes on slick ramps.

The evening, day and overnight crews of the Virginia State Police combined to battle the accidents that snagged traffic at the Mixing Bowl on the Capital Beltway and Interstates 95 and 395.

“The problem is, we were outnumbered,” spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. Troopers often were working 40 accident reports with another 15 crashes pending attention.

“We had every available piece of equipment in our arsenal out before the storm started [Tuesday],” Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck said. “People’s expectations need to be realistic, and they’re not.”

The National Weather Service came under fire for being to slow to announce winter weather warnings to the east and south of the District of Columbia.

Although freezing rain was forecast for the region, the advisories and warnings were issued just before the roads began to ice.

“[Tuesday], what happened is the colder air was a little slower to leave the area,” meteorologist Brandon Peloquin said. “We didn’t have any advisories or warnings, but we did have that freezing rains were likely.”

The damage was most prevalent on bridges and overpasses, but also caused the closure of the 12th Street Tunnel in the District.

Despite that closure, D.C. roads were largely in good shape because the roads were salted Tuesday morning. The storm reaffirmed the policy of coating roads with salt even when predictions of icy weather are far from certain, spokeswoman Karyn LeBlanc said.

“D.C. is on the precipice where sometimes it rains, sometimes it ices,” LeBlanc said. “We just can’t take the chance and say, ‘Oh, we’ll wait.’ ”

Jeanette Der Bedrosian contributed to this report.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

10:08 AM MST on Tue., May. 13, 2008 re: "O�Malley turns weatherman after emergency briefing"

Examiner Reader said:
O'Malley would make a better weather man than he is a politician. He could lie about the weather and blame it on Bob Ehrlich and global warming.

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4:27 AM MST on Tue., May. 13, 2008 re: "O�Malley turns weatherman after emergency briefing"

Examiner Reader said:
Had it not been for global warming there would be 40 inches of snow laying on the ground right now with many people losing thier lives!

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7:55 PM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "Va. to scrutinize ice-clearing strategy after icy highways overwhelm crews"

Examiner Reader said:
Was the issue with VDOT and /or the lack of the national /local reporting

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7:30 PM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "Va. to scrutinize ice-clearing strategy after icy highways overwhelm crews"

Examiner Reader said:
Virginia definitely doesn't know how to handle this type of weather, let alone do Virginia drivers know how to drive. Being from Indiana, it cracks me up to see places of business closing down because the weather report says there's a chance of snow. People need to slow down and remember what driver's ed taught them, it'll save lives.

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4:59 PM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "Va. to scrutinize ice-clearing strategy after icy highways overwhelm crews"

Examiner Reader said:
Cabin fever!!!

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4:37 PM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "Va. to scrutinize ice-clearing strategy after icy highways overwhelm crews"

Examiner Reader said:
The problem is that Virginia does not know how to handle winter weather. It's not just highways. "It was a perfect storm at a perfect time..."? Gimme a break. Just own up to not having enough DOT trucks, and to not having an efficient plan when snow/ice falls. There certainly are plenty of other states that deal with snow/ice every year, yet they don't seem to have these issues. It's amazing really.

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7:37 PM MST on Fri., Feb. 1, 2008 re: "Today's weather: More of the same"

Examiner Reader said:
ok

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4:20 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 22, 2008 re: "Baltimore braces as forecasters predict prolonged cold weather"

Tinker said:
Just think how much colder it would be if "AL" had not invented global warming!

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9:51 AM MST on Fri., Jan. 4, 2008 re: "Alameda-Oakland ferry cancels morning trips"

Examiner Reader said:
Actually, there was also a 7:05 ferry from Oakland to SF that I was on - what a wild ride!

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