Thanks for the comments! The problem with this location is that the bridge deck begins about one-sixth of the way into the tight 90-degree turn, and is not visible to oncoming traffic. In situations where the bridge ices over before the rest of the roadway (which happens at the onset of nearly every snow event), drivers coming around the curve cannot see the ice/snow cover until they are already on it. At that point there is nothing they can do if they are traveling too fast. Most of the accidents/spinouts are with vehicles traveling visibly too fast. While this location has an element of surprise in the bridge-ice factor being 'hidden' in the curve, driver behavior is probably the bigger factor in these accidents. Drivers approaching this location cross many smaller bridges prior to reaching the danger zone, all of which will be just as iced over as the big bridge is. Therefore there is plenty of warning that the big bridge will be icy just by observing the ice and snow on other bridges. Most drivers crossing the bridge are apparently aware of the conditions and therefore driving slowly, and have little problems as a result. It is the cars traveling 60-70mph that will not make it across.
The bridges ice over fairly quick with snowfall once temps fall below 31F, and the plows are usually quick to spread salt. The Department of Highways watches the weather to determine when to send the plows out. The salt trucks were a little slow to respond yesterday, but I believe this is due to the snow being an upslope event. With a typical approaching snow band, the DOH can see the precip approaching and get the trucks ready. When upslope snow begins, there is no band moving in from Ohio. The radar just suddenly lights up with the snow literally developing overhead. In fact, I almost went to bed after checking the radar at 5:30AM - it was nearly clear with nothing coming from upstream. At 6:00, the radar suddenly lit up with moderate snow shower in classic upslope fashion. Even I was caught off-guard and got to the bridge too late to catch the first 5-6 crashes. My guess is that the DOH was also caught off-guard by this, hence the slower response time.
In the late 1980s, an ice warning system was installed on this bridge and a second bridge about 10 miles west of Charleston, but it was removed after being highly unreliable. Apparently, there are other automatic de-icing systems that are more reliable nowadays. While the accident rate during icy conditions is high, the bridge only sees five or six events like this per year. A lot different from say, Minnesota or Wisconsin where you'd see far more icing events per season. Whether or not a de-icer would be an economical investment for this location would be something up for review. I plan to write a letter to the Department of Highways about the issue, although judging from their previous attempts to deal with the problem, it appears they are aware of it and up to this point have decided it is not economical to install any de-icing systems. Furthermore, icy bridge wrecks are common in WV, as many of our bridges are curved. While this bridge has an above average crash risk level, there are many other locations that present the same problem and would need to be equally addressed. For the record, this bridge ranks #5 in the top ten dangerous road locations in Charleston due to accident frequency.
One observation about yesterday's incidents is that many of the vehicles were SUVs with four-wheel drive capability. The silver Forester that spun out and hit the left barrier has full-time all-wheel drive. Possibly a little overconfidence in 4WD and AWD is to blame. BTW, the video is on the APVN (and all their affiliate sites) legitimately.
