With weekend snowstorm likely bound for Henrico, plows focus on access for emergency services and more treacherous areas of subdivisions

It’s been five days since last weekend’s snow and sleet storm that, along with freezing temperatures, left an icy sheen throughout Henrico County.

The streets of Pat Anczak’s neighborhood are completely frozen.

“I am afraid to leave the house as I could fall,” Anczak wrote the Henrico Citizen. “Don’t want to drive. Starting to run low on supplies. Can’t get deliveries, and no one from Henrico cares.”

 She also asked the question many others are wondering: “When will school be able to resume, as buses shouldn’t be on these roads either?”

To Henrico County Public Works, Anczak says: “Doing nothing isn’t acceptable."

But Public Works staffers who have been working 12-hour shifts are between a rock and a hard place. That is, a pile of rock salt and what Virginia Department of Transportation is calling "snowcrete" – the combination of ice and snow that's packed down to the pavement. It's difficult to remove that combination as a solid, compacted layer with below-freezing temperatures, because it's like trying to break up and lift concrete or cement blocks.

For VDOT, heavy equipment must first break apart a layer of ice that has formed over snow on roads. VDOT’s motor graders travel about 3 to 5 mph to remove the packed ice. Once the ice is broken, trucks are available to assist with pushing the broken-up ice and snow to the sides of the road. This helps to create at least a single lane that is 8 to 10 feet wide that is drivable with extreme caution.

VDOT controls a number of roads in Henrico County (all those that carry route numbers), which their crews have cleared. Henrico Department of Public Works crews and their contractors have been focusing on primary and secondary roads, leaving many neighborhoods streets that are still covered in frozen ice untouched.

“The 44% of roads deemed passable at a minimum is likely still the most accurate number we have,” said Henrico County Public Works and Public Utilities senior public relations specialist Beth Sanmartin on Friday. “Any work done after we calculated that yesterday afternoon would have been on small stretches and not entire roads because of how slow it is going.”

Friday, crews have been focusing efforts on ensuring access for emergency services and more treacherous areas of subdivisions, such as hills, Sanmartin said.

“Work on the vast majority of the subdivision streets not treated yet won't begin until early next week,” said Sanmartin. “With the snow coming this weekend, our focus will go back to the primary and secondary roads. We are expecting higher temperatures next week, which should go a long way in allowing us to more effectively clear the subdivisions. This is the same countywide.”

Henrico County created a web page to answer residents' questions about why the frozen ice is making road clearing so slow and other snow removal logistics.

In a social media video posted Thursday night, Henrico Public Works Director Terrell Hughes detailed how salt is used and when low temperatures make that ineffective.

Sand, he said is being used, but sometimes it makes roads slicker.

Residents commenting begged for both salt and sand, at a minimum, on their slick streets.

“We’re working these roads as fast as we can and trying to get to as many neighborhoods as fast as we can,” Hughes said. “We’re working around the clock. You may not see action in front of your house. We appreciate your patience through this event.”

A commenter opined that residents should take snow removal into their own hands: “You just need to accept that Henrico County Public Works & Public Utilities is not going to do anything to most of the neighborhood streets. You want something done? Ask your neighborhood HOA or just talk to your neighbors about everyone chipping in to hire a crew to plow and treat your streets. I live in a condominium complex with a private parking lot. The HOA contracted with our landscaping company to plow and treat our parking lot. They did a GREAT job! Our parking lot is almost as clear as the four-lane highway next to our complex. Should you have to fork over more money when your taxes should get your public road treated? Of course not. But my family pays the same sales taxes, gasoline taxes, and personal property taxes you pay. Our HOA fee pays for private plowing. Our parking lot is clear. Your neighborhood is a mess. You do the math.”

One Henrico-area HOA board member who asked to remain anonymous said that engaging a snow clearing contractor may be a topic brought up at future board meetings, with the understanding of the need to adjust dues accordingly to cover the related costs.

As a resident of a neighborhood that is treated by county plows, he expressed understanding for the challenges Henrico Public Works officials have faced attempting to clear thick, hard ice from roads.

“The county does a pretty awesome job,” he said. “This has been a very non-standard storm, so we all have been dealing with it.”

Public use areas reopen; trash collection delayed for some

Also on Friday, county officials announced that both the Springfield Road and Charles City Road public use areas were back to their normal operating hours of 7:30 a.m to 7 p.m., with potential shifts to come as warranted by this weekend's storm.

They also urged residents of streets that are passable to leave their garbage cans out if they have not yet been emptied by county crews. But those who live on streets that have not been plowed should bring their cans back in, officials said.

"Due to safety concerns, trucks likely will not be able to reach you until your next scheduled service day," they wrote in a social media post.

Dina Weinstein is the Citizen’s community vitality reporter and a Report for America corps member, covering housing, health and transportation. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.