Following the fatal crash on Interstate 81 Monday night, Shenandoah County Schools closed Tuesday.

Superintendent Keith Rowland says the call he made had nothing to do with the hazardous material spill itself. Instead, he says it was out of concern for the heavy traffic on U.S. Route 11.

Interstate drivers slowly crawled down that road for much of the day.

Rowland says the school system does use 81 to bus some kids to a governor's school and a vocational school. However, he says Route 11 is really one of the main roads the county uses to bus students.

Given the heavy traffic, he says there was a safety concern for the kids.

"We know, previous history, that when you have an accident on 81, that the traffic on 11 becomes somewhat bottle-necked. And, it's very difficult for us to maneuver our buses in and out of the communities and in and out of the side roads," says Rowland.

Rowland says it's likely schools will be open Wednesday.