(Bloomberg) — One of the East Coast’s main thoroughfares was completely blocked near Washington, D.C. overnight, with thousands of cars and trucks at a standstill for more than 11 hours, marking the latest headache in a difficult holiday travel season.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said its crews were working to unblock I-95 south of the U.S. capital but it remained unclear when traffic could resume. After several hours the agency is now trying to move cars off the highway via interchanges and asking anyone experiencing a medical emergency stuck in the chain of cars to call 911.
The National Weather Service warning of more ice for Tuesday.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine tweeted that he had still not reached the U.S. Capitol 19 hours after he began his normally two hour journey there Monday, adding that his office was in touch with the state’s transportation officials.
“Please stay safe everyone,” he said.
NBC Correspondent Josh Lederman tweeted he was stuck on the I-95 for more than 11 hours with little word from officials. He later tweeted that traffic was finally moving toward Washington, but the southbound lanes of the interstate were still blocked for miles.
Images taken from news helicopters aired on NBC showed emergency personnel walking across the median to bring blankets and supplies to stranded motorists once dawn broke.
While the eastern snow storm also affected parts of New Jersey, other kinds of extreme weather are hitting elsewhere too.
“Heavy coastal rain and widespread mountain snow will continue for the Northwest U.S. much of this week,” the National Weather Service said. “High winds and fire weather will impact the central and southern High Plains Tuesday.”
Meanwhile, thousands of U.S. flight cancellations cascaded into the first work week of the new year as ongoing Covid-19 issues among airline workers were compounded by winter storms hitting the northeast.
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