Freezing Rain Shuts Major Highways

A sheet of ice that covered much of the Washington region late yesterday closed major highways, caused dozens of accidents, left commuters stranded for hours and caused some would-be voters to miss making it to the polls.

"It's a mess,'' said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller, who said police had 55 accidents to investigate at 8:30 p.m.

The freezing rain started just after 3 p.m., and it didn't take long to create one of the region's most miserable commutes in recent memory, with reports of scores of accidents, the closure of the region's largest highway interchange and motorists stuck for hours on roads that were as slick as a frozen lake. The freezing rain was expected to continue overnight, but temperatures were forecasted to rise by the morning rush hour.

One motorist left work an hour early to vote and ended up stuck in traffic for two hours; he missed voting by three minutes. For other commuters, icy roads, accidents and closed ramps made trips long and dangerous. There were reports of hours-long backups across the region. Route 50 was backed up from the Bay Bridge to Crofton. A trip from Ashburn to Springfield took 1 1/2 hours. Many of the 50 ramps and bridges of the Springfield interchange, which handles 430,000 vehicles a day, were closed to traffic for hours.

"It's 'motorist beware' out there," said Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, as he came to a rolling stop on the Beltway about 6:30 p.m. "The biggest surprise was when I turned on my wipers and it just spread a sheet of ice across the windshield, and I couldn't see a thing. I had to put my window down and stick my head out the window."

In Maryland, a six-car pileup shut down the northbound ramp of Route 210 leading to Interstate 295 in Oxon Hill for several hours, Maryland State Police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Washington said. Washington said there were no serious injuries in the accident.

Earlier in the day, the Virginia Department of Transportation was monitoring reports of storms that were expected to hit well west and north of the Washington area. But, in part because of the presidential primary, the agency sent out 278 trucks to salt major roads and highways anyway. Morris said the speed and amount of the precipitation caught everyone by surprise. "Things just went to hell in a handbasket with the roads," she said. "It started sleeting over and icing very quickly."

Things seemed to fare better in the District, where crews were out earlier treating the roads. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) who took heat for poor snow removal in the first storm of his administration, pledged to do better. Still, there were about 15 accidents in the District between 2 and 6 p.m., injuring 12 people, authorities said.

Brandon Peloquin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, said the freezing rain was caused by warmer air on top of colder Arctic air.

"We have warm air aloft. That's why rain is falling. But near the ground, the temperatures are below freezing," he said. Peloquin said he expected more freezing rain overnight until the Arctic air is pushed from the region this morning.

Virginia State Police noted about 10 mid-afternoon accidents near the Springfield interchange, where Interstate 395, Interstate 95 and the Beltway meet. Within a half-hour, spokeswoman Geller said, the number of accident reports spiked to 50.

Prince George's County police said that by 5:30 p.m., they were working at least 10 accidents across the county, one with serious injuries. Eastbound Route 50 was shut down in Anne Arundel County due to icy conditions on an overpass.