Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 28, 1994 TAG: 9411280080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM AND CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I've got six hours to go to Springfield, and that's if everything goes all right," he said.
The odds were not in his favor.
One, I-81, known as "the alley" in trucker parlance, carries the bulk of truck traffic on the East Coast. Two, the interstate is always congested on Sunday nights as trucks from Southern states rush to get produce and other goods to Northeast markets by Monday morning. Three, the rain showed no sign of letting up.
And four, it happened to be the busiest travel day of the year.
"This is traditionally one of our bad days," said Sgt. E.G. Moses, with the Salem office of the state police. Families heading home after Thanksgiving and college students heading back to school clog the interstates and highways.
All day Sunday, police dispatchers rattled off a steady stream of traffic and accident reports, mostly fender benders and minor wrecks, and more than a few pileups.
At 3 p.m. in Wythe County, folks got caught in a seven-mile backup near the I-81 and I-77 intersection, after four cars piled into a stalled car that had been left in the middle of the highway, said state trooper L.F. Valley. Two people were taken to Wythe Community Hospital, he said.
"They're wrecking everywhere, and they're all rear ends," Valley said. "When someone hits their brakes, it's just a chain reaction."
State police dispatcher Tom Mabe said that most of the problems near the station in Wytheville were on Interstate 77, where travelers were trying to get onto I-81.
"They're backed up going north and south," he said.
A half-dozen pileups occurred within half a mile of each other on Afton Mountain near Waynesboro, said state police 1st Sgt. A.J. Anderson in Charlottesville. At least three of the pileups involved four or more vehicles. No serious injuries were reported.
Probably the worst single pileup was on I-81 in Rockbridge County about 6:30 p.m. According to a state police report, 13 cars were involved. No information on injuries was available.
By 7 p.m., state police reported traffic was severely backed up along I-81 from Greenville to Roanoke. That's about 70 miles.
In his many years as a trooper, L.F. Valley has never seen a sunny Sunday after Thanksgiving: "It's either raining or sleeting or snowing."
The National Weather Service issued an advisory early in the afternoon that sleet and freezing rain might make bridges and overpasses slick, but evening travelers got a break. The advisory was lifted at 5 p.m. because of rising temperatures.
The Nicely family had driven in rain since 7:30 a.m., when they left Marietta, Ga. Carl and his son, Buzz, took turns driving. Pauline Nicely, Carl's wife, said the four talked and snacked to pass the time.
"And stopping at the rest stops," she added. The Ironto rest stop was their last before heading home to Clifton Forge.
Gordon, who also had pulled off into the Ironto stop, said traffic seemed to be moving pretty quickly. Very quickly, actually.
"I'm doing 68 and they're passing me like I was sitting still," he said. But that's just average for I-81, said the Chattanooga, Tenn., resident, who's been driving professionally for 20 years.
He definitely noticed more cars than usual on the road Sunday. "You've got lots more families. You've got to be careful, because [the drivers] are watching the kids, not watching the road," he said.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
by CNB