
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 27, 1994                   TAG: 9412280027
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

VDOT SAYS IT'S READY FOR WINTER

Virginia has stored away plenty of what it takes to keep the roads open and commerce rolling in the event the weather outside gets as frightful as it has the last two winters.

The state Department of Transportation has stockpiled 283,000 tons of road salt, 117,000 tons of abrasives and 59,000 tons of calcium chloride to help make glazed highways passable this winter, agency officials said.

``While we hope for a milder winter than we had the past two years, we're ready for whatever this season brings,'' said Transportation Commissioner David R. Gehr.

Ice storms earlier this year forced the state to use about twice the amount it has stockpiled for the upcoming winter. The department has budgeted $41.2 million for snow removal this season. It budgeted $40.6 million for the winter of '94 but spent $67 million because of the ice storms.

More than 4,500 VDOT employees are ready to operate 2,500 pieces of equipment, including trucks equipped with snowplows and spreaders, motor graders and front-end loaders. In addition, almost 3,000 contracted employees are available to assist state crews.

The many bridges and overpasses of Hampton Roads can mean added danger to drivers during winter storms, said Bill Cannell, spokesman for VDOT's Suffolk District office, which covers the Peninsula and Southside.

VDOT crews drive around during winter storms to monitor the roads, said Cannell. In addition, at four locations in the district, including Interstate 64 in James City County, sensors are embedded in the road surface. The sensors indicate if the road is wet, icy, snow-covered or dry, he said.

The department clears all state-maintained roads. All cities and the counties of Henrico and Arlington clear their own streets, said Sheila Larson, spokeswoman for VDOT's Fredericksburg District.

Snow removal crews give top priority to the most heavily traveled routes, typically the interstates, heavily traveled primary and secondary roads and roads designated by localities as snow emergency routes. Then they work on less-traveled roads, said Larson.

The department has a toll-free help line, 1-800-367-ROAD, that people can call for highway conditions throughout Virginia and neighboring states. Last year it handled more than 128,000 calls, including 14,024 during the Feb. 11 ice storm.

The automated telephone system, staffed around the clock at the Emergency Operations Center in Richmond, has been upgraded so it can handle 1,000 calls at a time, said the spokesmen. Callers using touch tone phones may press a number and hear recorded reports about conditions on interstates highways and major traffic corridors. The information is updated as weather conditions change, she said.

The system has been expanded so that people can call from out of state.

Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.

by CNB