Eastern NC roads are snow-covered, icy after storm. What NCDOT is doing to clear them
A strong afternoon sun and temperatures just above freezing helped clear the snow from many Triangle streets and roads Wednesday, but some driving challenges remain.
With temperatures plunging into the lower teens Thursday morning and into the 20s on Friday, pavement that didn’t dry off Wednesday could be icy until warmer air arrives this weekend.
In the Triangle, Interstate highways and primary roads such as Capital Boulevard and U.S. 64 were clear Wednesday morning, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. Secondary roads and streets were still snow-covered and slick, and road crews concentrated on them Wednesday with a big assist from the sun.
Road conditions east of Raleigh
Road conditions were worse east of Raleigh. Even interstates and other major highways were covered in snow and ice east of Interstate 95, particularly in the Wilmington, Jacksonville and New Bern areas. The hardest hit area was around Elizabeth City and the Outer Banks, according to NCDOT.
“We have significant amounts of snow and slick roads in areas of the state that don’t often see a lot of snowfall,” Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a written statement. “The sunshine will help melt some of this, but as temperatures are likely to remain below freezing for the next few nights, many roads may remain unsafe for travel into the weekend.”
NCDOT crews working 12-hour shifts
NCDOT said nearly 2,000 employees and contractors have been working to clear roads from the Piedmont to the coast using plows and salt spreaders. They are working 12-hour shifts, said department spokesman Andrew Barksdale.
“We will continue this pace until all of our state-maintained roads are cleared,” Barksdale wrote in an email. “People should be patient, stay clear our big trucks for safety and be careful when venturing out, especially tomorrow morning due to concerns of black ice. Our crews will be salting bridges especially for this reason.”
The storm left areas west of the Triangle largely untouched. Several NCDOT crews from the western half of the state brought their plows and spreader east, where several inches of snow fell on the coastal plain. Some areas along the coast received up to 9 inches.
It may be Thursday before non-interstate highways east of I-95 begin to clear, Barksdale said, with many secondary roads remaining covered until Friday.
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 10:03 AM.
