HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — Many residential and neighborhood roads are still covered with snow and ice days after a major snowstorm hit Hampton Roads.
It’s the reason many school district closed Monday, including Hampton City Schools on the Peninsula.
“The main roads were fine. It was the side roads that are really bad, like going in and out of our neighborhood, but the main roads are fine. If you take your time, you should be fine,” said Hampton resident Sonya Howard.
Howard and her daughter were out driving in the city on Sunday night. She was concerned the ice and snow will not melt soon enough.
“If the weather stays like this, it’s going to be a few days. It’s going to be a while. Hopefully, it will warm up over the next week or so that the roads will at least get clear,” she said.
Fellow Hampton resident Diamond Williams was also concerned about the overnight freezing temperatures.
She will be headed back to work on Monday like many others.
“People don’t know how to drive in the snow. I’m ready for the snow to melt and go away and for the roads to be back,” she said.
Hampton has also delayed trash collection until Tuesday.
Info on trash pickup, other services in Hampton Roads
Officials say Monday’s trash will be picked up on Tuesday. Tuesday’s trash will be picked up on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday’s schedules will go on as normal.
The city says there may be some areas that collectors can not reach due to snow or time restraints.
Officials say if your trash is not collected on its scheduled day, you can leave it out on the curb until it is picked up.
Trash may be picked up on Saturday, if it is necessary.
Officials also say city employees may use liberal leave on Monday, if approved by supervisors.
On the Southside
The big chill Sunday night also caused problems on roadways on the Southside, as they too try to dig out from the blizzard.
Mayors from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake tried to soothe frustrated citizens with a joint statement released Sunday. An excerpt addresses current conditions:
“Although bitter cold and significant icing have made the clearing process challenging, plowing and treatment operations in the cities are beginning to show results on the larger streets, particularly the main east-west and north-south connectors and the streets leading to medical, fire, and emergency service facilities. None of the Southside cities plow or treat residential streets, both for reasons of resource allocation and due to the extensive safety and logistical hazards this would cause. We know this is inconvenient for our citizens. We are all looking forward to the forecast warm-up as the new week begins, and to the melting that will bring.
Travel will continue to be difficult for the next several days and we sincerely appreciate your patience as we work to clear the roads. If you must venture onto the roadways, please use extreme caution. Leave plenty of room between vehicles and generally assume that all roads, even those that appear clear, can have icy areas. Please continue to check on your neighbors, particularly the elderly, and offer whatever assistance you can as they also weather the storm.”
One scrape at a time, James Burstein digs out.
Instead of a shovel, the California native has pieces from his AC unit to brush snow off his car. You can’t blame him, he wasn’t expecting this much snow in his new city.
Monday will be a tough commute given the snow and ice piled on Norfolk’s roads.
It’s the same story, in a different setting, in Virginia Beach’s Town Center. For those who reached the pitch of their cabin fever, they braved the icy sidewalks and slush filled streets of the shopping area.
It was another day during which the melting power of the sun got canceled out by frigid temperatures.
“We had temperatures below freezing before the storm ever got here,” said Virginia Beach Public Works spokesman Drew Lankford. “They’ve not only continued, they’ve got lower since the storm got here.”
Crews continue to plow primary roads like Virginia Beach Boulevard and work as best they can on secondary roads.
“Tomorrow if the forecast holds out it’s gonna be somewhere in the upper 40s or 50s, that will help a lot,” Lankford said.
Frigid conditions continue to make trouble for drivers – and promise a rough commute on Monday.