With so much winter weather hitting the area recently, the Virginia Department of Transportation has to be on alert 24-7.

Three operations managers handle hundreds of cameras lining interstates and primary roads throughout Virginia.

They three people handle the traffic operations center in VDOT's Staunton Area Office to make sure you're safe on the roads.

VDOT Public Relations Specialist Marshall Barnhill says the traffic operations center is a critical part of how VDOT manages winter weather.

Barnhill says, "I believe it's been a tremendous asset in that the public can go and check on road conditions prior to going out on the roads and they can see that if the roads are looking severe, they know not to go out there."

Information on roadways, weather and traffic conditions go from the police to the traffic center and then to 511 Virginia.

Barnhill says, "As soon as they get information, they enter it into the Virginia traffic and that goes straight to 511, so within minutes."

Regional Operations Director Dean Gustafson analyzes the number of hits to the 511 Virginia Website and phone service throughout the year. He believes this year has seen an increase in numbers.

Gustafson says, "During Thanksgiving, that Sunday after Thanksgiving, we would go from an average of five to 10,000 calls statewide up to about 35,000. So, we have a huge spike and we'll find that during winter weather as well."

That increase in numbers means more Virginians are relying on the 511 system.

Gustafson says, "Whether it's truck drivers, whether it's the U.S. Postal Service, they rely on checking it everyday to see what the road and weather conditions are going to be. So, it is an important tool for a lot of folks."

The traffic center's busiest day of the week is Sunday and its highest volume of traffic calls is during the afternoon.