Winter Storm Affects Some Alexandria Services Tuesday, Snow Removal Continues

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Some Alexandria government facilities reopened Tuesday after Monday's winter storm, but clearing roads continues, and some services are still impacted.

As of Tuesday, the city was still clearing primary and secondary roads. At 9 p.m., the city reported 95 percent of primary and secondary roads and 85 percent of secondary roads are complete. The city has classified 60 percent of residential streets as "passable."

The city is responsible for removing snow from 561 lane miles of roadway, 20 miles of city-owned walkways and trails, and 44 acres of municipal parking lots or city-owned squares. Snow emergency routes are plowed first, followed by secondary routes, intermediate routes, and residential streets. Updates are provided through the SnowReport tracking system.

A city ordinance requires property owners, occupants, community associations or businesses to be responsible for clearing their sidewalks, driveways and entrances. The ordinance requires snow to be removed by a certain time, depending on the level of the storm. Monday's storm was declared a Level 2 storm. For a Level 2 storm, it must be cleared 48 hours after snowfall stops. Snowfall stopped by 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 3, which means the deadline for snow removal is 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 5.

Power outages continue in some areas of the city. Updates on estimated power restoration times are provided on the Dominion Energy outage map. Outages can be reported to 866-DOM-HELP (866-366-4357) or www.dom.com. Water main breaks or questions about water service should be directed to Virginia American Water at 800-452-6863.

With many roads still requiring cleanup, some services continue to be impacted. Alexandria city government facilities reopened at 10 a.m., but courts remain closed. All facilities will open on time Wednesday. Non-emergency city staff are permitted to take unscheduled leave or telework with supervisor approval.

Closures on Tuesday include Chinquapin Park Recreation Center, Curative COVID-19 testing sites, and Alexandria Health Department. Yard waste, trash and recycling collection has been moved to Wednesday, Jan. 5. Monday’s routes will be collected on Wednesday, Tuesday routes will be collected on Thursday, Wednesday routes will be collected on Friday and Thursday routes collected on Saturday. Leaf collection has been suspended for the rest of the week.

DASH Bus resumed service at 10 a.m. Tuesday. On Wednesday, bus service will be winter weather detours on an enhanced Saturday schedule. DASH will continue to evaluate updates to change snow re-routes back to regular routes. Check for updates on the DASH social media.

Alexandria City Public Schools has closed school buildings implemented virtual learning on Monday through Wednesday. Students have asynchronous learning with teacher office hours, but no new content or being taught and grades aren't being assigned.