RUTHER GLEN, Va. (AP) - Hundreds of motorists were stranded all night in snow and freezing temperatures along a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 after a crash involving six tractor-trailers in Virginia, where authorities were struggling Tuesday to reach them.

Both directions of traffic on I-95 came to a standstill Monday between Ruther Glen, Virginia, in Caroline County and exit 152 in Dumfries, Prince William County, the Virginia Department of Transportation said. At around daybreak on Tuesday, the agency tweeted that “crews will start taking people off at any available interchange to get them.”

Gov. Ralph Northam said his team responded through the night alongside state police, transportation and emergency management officials.

Crews were working to remove stopped trucks, plow snow, de-ice the roadway and guide stranded motorists to the nearest exits along the U.S. East Coast’s main north-south highway, the transportation agency said. By 9 a.m., a single lane of traffic was creeping forward between many stalled trucks and cars in one direction, while people could be seen walking down traffic lanes still covered with ice and snow

The tractor-trailer collision Monday afternoon caused no injuries, but brought traffic to a standstill, and it became impossible to move as the snow accumulated.

Between 7 to 11 inches of snow accumulated in the area during Monday’s blizzard, according to the National Weather Service, and state police had warned people to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary, especially as evening and freezing temperatures set in.