Major roads clear after storm, but trouble spots remain

The powdery coating of snow that blanketed the D.C. area Saturday was largely cleared off the major thoroughfares by late Sunday morning, and crews turned their attention to the neighborhood streets in hopes that residents might be completely unhindered during their Monday morning commutes.

The major thoroughfares in the D.C. area remained wet and, in some cases, slushy, officials said. In Maryland, crews were trolling the highways for leftover patches of slush. In D.C., workers had moved the heavy plows into the neighborhood streets with an eye on clearing them by Monday.

"Obviously the top priorities for tomorrow are rush hour and school areas, and we really don't foresee any problems," said John Lisle, a spokesman for the District Department of Transportation. "I've looked at the traffic cameras this morning and they show that the majority of the main roads are down to pavement. They're wet, there might have been some slick spots overnight, but they seem to be in really good shape."

Metro buses resumed normal service, except for on a handful of routes, Sunday afternoon, after only running on emergency routes on Saturday and Sunday morning. MetroAccess also returned to normal service, but Metro warned riders could see long delays.

But some problems remain. In the Southeast, where the storm hit the hardest, crews continued work repairing downed power lines and clearing up traffic nightmares that the snow left in its wake.

In this region, forecasters initially predicted a minimal impact, but the storm led to a long list of closures, scores of traffic accidents and limited bus service, as well as small delays and cancellations at the region's airports.

"It has exceeded expectations and proved to be more snow than all of us were predicting," said Dan Stillman of the Capital Weather Gang.

Before this snowfall, the region had surpassed the winter average of eight inches. As of Friday, Stillman said, 17.6 inches had fallen at Reagan National Airport. But it was the second straight storm that arrived on a Saturday, its weekend landing appreciated by those who, unlike on a workday, could stay close to home.

Transportation officials got a head start on treating major roads with a salty spray and deployed hundreds of trucks and plows on streets and highways. But some residents said they were caught off guard.

Even before the snow started falling, Maryland and Northern Virginia transportation officials said they had blown through their annual budgets for snow removal. The District was also on track to exceed its budget. Officials pointed to last month's record storm, which dropped more than two feet in some areas around Washington, plus smaller recent storms, for bumping spending into the red.

"It's been a crazy winter," said Joan Morris, a spokeswoman for Virginia's Department of Transportation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.