On Monday morning, a winter storm dropped “more than 12 inches of snow to the Fredericksburg region” in Virginia. As a result, along with sinking temperatures and ice, road conditions quickly deteriorated. Accidents combined with terrible driving conditions have led to a virtual standstill along a huge stretch of the interstate highway. The Virginia Department of Transportation has closed Interstate 95 through the Fredericksburg area. However, as Sen. Tim Kaine and others have tweeted, the situation for those stuck on I-95 has been harrowing.

Sen. Kaine first tweeted about the situation around 5:30 AM ET, saying, “started my normal two-hour drive to DC at 1 PM yesterday. 19 hours later, I’m still not near the Capitol. My office is in touch with @VaDOT [Virginia Department of Transportation] to see how we can help other Virginians in this situation. Please stay safe everyone.” An hour or so later, things were not much better.

Tuesday, Jan 4, 2022 · 7:16:58 PM +00:00 · Walter Einenkel

One of the main issues with being stuck in what Jim DeFede, a reporter for CBS4 News in Miami, who is also stuck on I-95, calls “a parking lot,” is that it is freezing and passengers must try to conserve gas—by balancing their discomfort against their need to maintain enough fuel to get away when the traffic clears. 

As of 11:45 AM ET, Associated Press reports that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said that, while the National Guard was “available,” he had not yet called on them for help. “Right now, things aren’t moving, as you know, and as you can see on the cameras. We need to get the cars and the trucks off the roads. We need to keep people safe, and then we need to clear them.” What exactly that looks like out on I-95 remains to be seen.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) reported last night that the specific logistical issue that led to most of the stand-still traffic was “an estimated 20-30 trucks stuck” on the northbound side of I-95. On the southbound side, a reported six-tractor-trailer crash led to a shutdown of one section of the highway. NBC Washington reports that there were no injuries reported in that crash. Most recently, the VDOT tweeted: “We are working to reopen I-95 as soon as possible. We are detouring all traffic to the nearest interchange between Caroline County and Prince William County. Crews continue work to remove disabled vehicles and tractor-trailers from the travel lanes.”

Truck driver Emily Clementson told NBC Washington that people in need should ask truck drivers whether they have extra supplies of food and water. While this situation was extraordinary, Clementson says, “I’ve never seen anything like it,” but adds that truck drivers tend to keep extra supplies on hand for experiences resembling this one.

Better infrastructure and more resources dedicated to handling severe climate crisis events would clearly help the situation. What else needs to be done?

Here’s an update as of 3:30pm ET:

And finally.