The areas of stoppage were reportedly from Dumfries to Carmel Church (an exit or so up from Doswell / Kings Dominion). I drove that stretch in the fall, and there was a ton of construction, much of that related to the express lane extension projects. Part of the issues may arise from these private partnerships that choose to not open 25 miles or more of roadway until every inch is complete and amortization as a whole can begin. We’ve seen much of the same thing on I-66, with roads (with divots because of the lane shifts) have shoulders removed and seem to not have been resurfaced for years because this is “temporary” construction.
In many of these stretches, there is literally nowhere to pull off (even if you could somehow persuade cars in other lanes to let you get over). Because of the construction, there is practically nowhere to walk — especially if kids or anybody with any level of impairment is involved, not to mention the piled-up snow on the side and the general icing over that would have occurred by then. Many of the people who are just passing through aren’t going to hazard abandoning their car in an unfamiliar place.
You pull the car over as far as possible, get out, and start walking to the next exit. No traffic was moving. You can simply walk on the side.
