FXBG ADVANCE EXCLUSIVE: Cleaning up Interstate Crash Sites Getting More Efficient
From 2023-24, the 47-mile stretch of I95 running through our region, was closed either north- or south-bound 60 times because of traffic accidents. Clean-up, response times, however, are improving.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
Between January of 2023 and December of 2024, along the 47 mile stretch of Interstate 95 through Stafford County, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County and Caroline County, the interstate was completely closed in one direction because of traffic accidents 60 times. About three in ten of those incidents involved some type of hazardous material, mostly fuel spills.
The figures have been provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation at the request of the Advance. The number of times the interstate was closed completely in one direction along this particular part of the highway went from 36 in 2023 down to 24 in 2024.
V-DOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon, who conducted the research, said 16 of those closures lasted more than an hour. The longest time needed to clear the roadway was on October 24 of 2024. It took over 10 hours to clean up a multiple vehicle crash southbound near Ladysmith in Caroline County. And it produced a 12- mile backup even after traffic was diverted. The reopening required reconstruction of 150 feet of roadway damaged by the fiery crash before cars were allowed to pass through.
Improving Response/Clean up Times
Things may be getting a bit better for weary road warriors in this region who are tired of sitting out interstate highway closures.
The state has been working over the last few years to clean up after accidents more quickly. Mike Corwin, V-DOT’s District Traffic Operations Engineer says they have cut the average response time to such incidents down to 33 minutes, but the cleanup crews never know how bad a crash is until they get to the scene.
Despite the quick response time, a similar multi-car crash last November 16, on I-95 southbound near Quantico in Stafford County took four hours to clean up before the highway could be reopened.
The V-DOT Operations Center is manned by ten people 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They get real-time texts from the Virginia State Police about any accident on the highway.
According to Corwin, the cleanup has been getting better partially because of the financial incentives they have added to tow truck operators for a quick response. Under the Tow Recovery and Incentive program (Trip) a towing company which gets all of their equipment to the scene of an incident within 45 to 60 minutes or less, depending on the time of day or day of the week, will receive a $3,000 bonus above their fee. Since it was instituted in 2021, 195 of the 214 incidents on the 47 mile stretch of I-95 from Stafford to Caroline have been cleared up in 90 minutes or less.
VDOT has 72 cameras in the Fredericksburg district monitoring traffic, mostly on the interstate, and Corwin says they plan to add 40 more in the next year so they can pinpoint accident locations more quickly.
Impacts of I95 Crashes Extend Beyond the Interstate
Such crashes do not just affect the interstate. Detours and traffic backups are more disruptive in this region because there is only one real alternative roadway—U.S. Route 1.
Tractor trailers and heavy vehicles cannot be diverted to side roads through neighborhoods or over smaller bridges that might not be able to handle the weight. And alternative routes can be confusing to out-of-state drivers who make up much of that volume.
Corwin said there is no other road that can handle the full workload of I-95, but they do have control of traffic lights by computer which can be adjusted to move traffic more quickly along U.S. Route 1.
“That sounds really good”, he said, “unless you are sitting on a side street.” And he notes that GPS and other on-line traffic guides often offer alternative routes through communities, clogging local traffic.
Floyd Ellmore, who is VDOT’s District Incident Management Coordinator, said they are also working to better coordinate with local law enforcement on roadways that adjoin I-95.
The separation of the main lanes, Express Lanes and local lanes on the bridges across the Rappahannock, which was completed in late 2023, have made a difference for motorists according to Hannon. She points to an accident earlier this month which occurred in the northbound lanes in Stafford. “We were able to keep three lanes open northbound with the through lanes open, whereas before we would have had to close the highway” she said. There are now five lanes on two bridges each way.
But that only works where the Express Lanes and through lanes are merged. Further north, where the Express Lanes are separated and reversable, the State Transportation Commissioner has to call the private operator of the Express lanes, Transurban, for approval to funnel main lane traffic into the toll lanes. That is time consuming and not always possible when the toll lanes are open in the other direction.
Ellmore said they often can’t clear a scene until the fire department or state police finish their work. It takes substantial time for Virginia State Police to investigate fatal crashes even as the wreckage is being cleared up. There were 18 fatalities on I-95 in the Fredericksburg district over the two years researched.
Investigation Times May Be Shortened in Near Future
The time for such investigations may soon be shortened because of new technology. Corwin said police could soon be using laser technology and drones with 3D technology to help with their investigations, which could speed things up substantially.
I-95 is the major North-South highway in the eastern United States. The Federal Highway Administration says it carries an average of 72,000 vehicles a day including about 10,000 trucks.
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