PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Ahead of the winter’s first major weather event, Virginia officials are preparing to ensure that a frustrating and lengthy standstill on I-95 during a winter storm from two years ago does not repeat itself.

Rebecca Barnes lives in Prince William County but on Jan. 4, 2022 was traveling home from Orlando where she spends a lot of time, especially around the holiday season. She told DC News Now she was stuck in the standstill for approximately 17 hours.

“We had just gotten off the highway earlier, used the bathroom, gotten food, filled up with gas,” she said. “We couldn’t have been in a better situation, in a bad situation.”

Barnes described the sequence of events that led to the traffic jam the “perfect storm, no pun intended.”

This year, several Virginia agencies and officials are preparing for the worst, even as the forecast continues to give clarity on the storm.

The Virginia Department of Transportation told DC News Now it brined in all four of its Northern Virginia counties, Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties in addition to all interstates and primary roads. It also said 780 trucks will be on standby.

VDOT also outlined a few procedural changes since the 2022 shutdown, including more road monitors to lessen reliance on traffic cameras.

Barnes said she’s hopeful the state is better prepared, especially after two reports outlined critical errors back in 2022.

“Let’s face it, if they set aside a whole bunch of money for a snowstorm and it didn’t snow that year, people would be crying out about waste of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “But on the flip side, when something like [the 2022 shutdown] happens, people get upset and say, ‘poor planning.’ Right? So it has to be somewhere in between.”

Barnes, who was in Orlando on Friday night, said she’s not traveling during the impending winter weather. “I drive in all kinds of situations, and if I have to come back, I would come back,” but describing the importance of keeping as many cars off the road as possible.

Barnes also serves with an area fire department as a volunteer. She said while local crews have some lessons they could learn, namely how they can offer aid or check in on travelers, most of the impetus for preparation falls on the statewide agencies, given the magnitude of a winter storm.