Drivers Call it the Worst Traffic Jam in Virginia

WASHINGTON - It was one of the worst traffic jams most drivers say they have ever been a part of in Virginia.

Elizabeth Egle was a part of the mess.

"After the first hour, I had read an article I had and I was like wow I hadn't moved," says Egle, a Virginia driver.

She left work in Georgetown at four in the afternoon.

"After hour number three, I was like this is going to be a long time. I hadn't moved in three hours." Three hours turned into 11 hours and 45 minutes.

She finally got home at 4:45 in the morning.

"Once I got out of it I went to the gas station. I was below the needle on E."

It's a mess that left a lot of people pointing the finger at VDOT.

Joan Morris, spokesperson for VDOT, says their trucks were in position.

"We pretreated the roads on Tuesday, between the morning and afternoon rush hour, but we had a huge rainstorm that night and many of those chemicals were washed away," Morris says.

After the chemicals were gone, the snow turned the roads into a slippery mess.

All this happened at the exact time when most people were leaving work, creating massive gridlock.

Drivers were stuck for hours. There were accidents, and people leaving their cars in the road.

"Even though our trucks were positioned along the roadways, they were not able to get to the ramps where cars were stuck in the traffic. Even if they had gotten there, they would not have been able to get back to the salt dome to get more materials."

VDOT says they will evaluate the way the handled the roads and see what they need to do to improve.