Fairfax County supervisors in coming days will be compiling a list of positives and negatives related to the local and state response to late January’s crippling snow and ice storm.
Their comments and questions will then be forwarded to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and other agencies responsible for clearing snow.
“We will get this all put together quickly,” said Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith, who was chairing the board’s Tuesday (Feb. 3) meeting in the absence of chair Jeff McKay.
The goal, in part, appears to be to avoid a repeat of last year, when a forum on 2025 snow-removal efforts between supervisors and VDOT officials turned into a finger-pointing — and sometimes finger-wagging — exercise.
“It seems like [this time] we want to gather questions … and get answers to those questions before we decide if we want to have a meeting,” Smith said.
The subject was brought up by Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who reported inconsistencies in VDOT plowing efforts across the county and a lack of plowing follow-up that left “numerous incidents of lanes narrowing or dropping [and] many turn lanes left unplowed.”
A lack of plowing cul-de-sacs “left many of our residents stuck in their neighborhoods,” Herrity said.
He also was critical of the county government’s efforts to plow out its own facilities.
Despite those concerns, Herrity and others said the response to the Jan. 25 storm was better than county residents experienced last January, when another winter storm confined many residents to their iced-over neighborhoods for days.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman gave mixed grades to VDOT’s efforts this time out, calling the response “markedly better” than 2025 but still was “not good enough.”
After facing complaints in particular from McLean neighborhoods he represents, Bierman was most vocal in his anger last April when VDOT officials showed up to a Board of Supervisors’ committee meeting to discuss their 2025 snow cleanup efforts.
That meeting grew “pretty heated,” Bierman acknowledged yesterday.
Having supervisors or their staffs write down questions and comments may be an effort to lower the temperature and get initial responses from both VDOT and county agencies without interpersonal conflicts.
Supervisors’ comments and questions will go to Bierman, who chairs the board’s transportation committee and will work with County Executive Bryan Hill to dispatch them to the appropriate state or county agency for review.
Fairfax County Public Schools also will be brought into the conversation, supervisors said.
Hill acknowledged that in terms of the county’s snow-removal efforts, “we don’t get everything right,” but gave his staff good grades for making government facilities accessible and operational before most neighboring jurisdictions.
Herrity praised the county’s police and fire departments, among others, for going above and beyond the call of duty to address a storm that dumped sleet on top of several inches of snow, all of which subsequently froze into heavy, rigid “snowcrete.”
It was a potent combination and one that required different removal strategies from the typical D.C.-area snowstorm.
“Some of the people really did an incredible job,” Herrity said of the county’s response.
Like most counties, but unlike most cities, in Virginia, clearing roadways in Fairfax is VDOT’s responsibility in most cases. In remarks, Bierman said he will look to county staff for an analysis of what it might cost to take over snow operations from the state government.
That price tag would most likely be exceptionally large, he recognized, but it could inform future consideration of shifting to local snow operations or explain why that’s not feasible when residents question why Fairfax County relies on VDOT.
VDOT’s responsibility includes more than 14,000 lane-miles in Fairfax County. According to protocol, plowing begins once two inches of snow have fallen.
Priority is given to interstates and primary roads before crews move onto secondary and neighborhood roads.
Roads within a townhouse, condominium or business complex that are not posted with a state route number are private streets. In those cases, snow removal is the responsibility of the property management company or homeowners association, county officials say.
At the Feb. 3 meeting, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said he’d like staff to also look at issues related to clearing of sidewalks, which largely is the responsibility of property owners.
The Town of Vienna, which handles its own snow removal, reported yesterday that crews were continuing “to literally chip away at ice-covered sidewalks,” focusing on frequently used pedestrian routes and major piles near schools along Park and Nutley streets.
Town snow-removal crews continue to literally chip away at ice-covered sidewalks in town. This week, they’re focusing on heavy accumulations near schools and pedestrian routes on Park and Nutley streets. Motorists should expect temporary lane closures in work areas. pic.twitter.com/uBy3Kcpi1X
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) February 3, 2026
Clearing efforts are also still underway in the Town of Herndon and Fairfax City.
Volunteer snow-clearing initiative proposed
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Board of Supervisors also directed staff to develop plans for a program where volunteers could shovel snow for seniors, the homebound and those with disabilities.
School and Scout groups, among others, are “willing and open to doing this kind of help,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck.
“The recent winter storm that paralyzed our region illuminated that there are efforts we as a community could undertake in service to our neighbors, particularly around snow removal,” Chairman Jeff McKay said in his prepared resolution, which passed without opposition.
The measure directed County Executive Bryan Hill to come back with a proposal within four months.
County staff should investigate any legal and other issues, and review any programs other jurisdictions have in place, the resolution said, suggesting that Volunteer Fairfax should be enlisted to support the effort.
Getting a report back in May or June means a program won’t be implemented in time for the current winter, but it could be in place once snow threats reemerge in December.
“It may not happen right away, but it’s important to start,” said Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez.
