Twenty-six VDOT employees from Fredericksburg District left Monday morning for at least a two-week mission to assist their colleagues in VDOT’s Bristol District with storm recovery following Hurricane Helene. Two 13-person crews will work in the Wytheville area to clear downed trees blocking roads and restore roads washed out by flood waters.
Employees worked through the weekend to fuel and prepare equipment and pack, since each team must be self-sufficient and bring all of their needed supplies to operate traffic control, as well as food rations and water to avoid stressing local emergency relief efforts.
They are bringing mini-excavators, skid steers with grapple hooks, and tandem dump trucks. After a safety briefing Monday morning at VDOT’s maintenance facility in Thornburg, crews started their drive west.
Photos courtesy VDOT Fredericksburg
