Last weekend, the entire Southwest Virginia region was blanketed in snow. Following that snowstorm, the region’s streets were gripped by solid ice that has refused to go away.
The City of Roanoke has been doing its best to try and keep the roads cleared, with snowplow crews working on twenty-four-hour rotations seven days a week.
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Progress has been slow, but the city has focused on the main roads and have recently begun transitioning its focus to the neighborhood roads to chip away at the ice clinging onto the roads.
“We are making progress, it’s slow progress, and that’s a factor of this sleet that came down. It’s compacted, and it’s essentially concrete at this point,” Roanoke Transportation Division Manager Dwayne D’Ardenne said. “We are doing everything we can, we are using big equipment plus the snow plows, and that’s really what it’s taking to get through some of these neighborhoods.”
However, more snow is on the way.
Sydney Wegner was one such person who is hoping that -if/when the weather turns snowy - the ice stays away.
“I’m really hoping that it’s not as much ice, because that’s really what’s shut down the city at this time,” Wegner said. “I do like it, it’s just difficult for everyone.”
People like Christopher Midura are more than prepared for any potential ice or snow that shows up.
“We got all of our equipment ready, the shovels and everything. We got a bit more of the salt,” Midura said.
The city is also prepared.
They’ve pulled people from other departments - such as the Parks and Recreation department - and has 71 plow trucks in total working since 5 p.m. this past Saturday, and they don’t plan on slowing down
“If we get more salt, we’ll continue the process, and we’ll continue 24/7 operations,” D’Ardenne said. “Long story short, it doesn’t matter how much snow we get, we’re going to be at it and continue at it until everybody has a one-lane passable in their neighborhood.”