Virginia

[1995hoo]

It bears remembering if they're in Virginia Beach, they might not be a VDOT thing. Seeing one on what is indisputably a VDOT road is interesting.

[1995hoo]

Following up on my prior comment–I drove through there about 20 minutes ago and there is no "Don't Block the Box" sign. Interesting to see the box without a sign. The following intersection (Franconia and Van Dorn) has the sign but not the box.

[Laura]

Pretty sure the Virginia Beach examples date back to at least 2005...I recall them before I left Norfolk the first time.

I remember them when I was there on a family vacation in Summer 2001.

[pcity]

WTOP is several days late. That's the road I mentioned further up the thread that opened last Tuesday. Part of it (Route 1 to Pole Road) is Jeff Todd Way and the remainder is Mulligan Road.

They've actually named the entire thing Jeff Todd Way now.  See "Project Background" part on this page:

http://virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/jeff_todd_way_and_telegraph_rd.asp

[1995hoo]

WTOP is several days late. That's the road I mentioned further up the thread that opened last Tuesday. Part of it (Route 1 to Pole Road) is Jeff Todd Way and the remainder is Mulligan Road.

They've actually named the entire thing Jeff Todd Way now.  See "Project Background" part on this page:

http://virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/jeff_todd_way_and_telegraph_rd.asp

You know, I've seen conflicting reports on it, and the last time I used that road (August 31, coming back from playing golf in Woodbridge) there were no street signs at all at the Telegraph Road end, so who knows for sure. All the more reason why I don't rely just on street names or route numbers or the like when I give directions!

[pcity]

You know, I've seen conflicting reports on it, and the last time I used that road (August 31, coming back from playing golf in Woodbridge) there were no street signs at all at the Telegraph Road end, so who knows for sure. All the more reason why I don't rely just on street names or route numbers or the like when I give directions!

There is a sign on northbound Telegraph that says "Jeff Todd Way, next signal" (might be "Jeff Todd Way, next right"), but I think you're right that there's no sign right at the intersection yet.

[NE2]

Has it been signed as USBR 1 yet?

[1995hoo]

Has it been signed as USBR 1 yet?

I presume that's a bike route reference? I didn't notice. I'll try to remember to look next time I go that way, but it probably won't be this week.

[NE2]

Has it been signed as USBR 1 yet?

I presume that's a bike route reference? I didn't notice. I'll try to remember to look next time I go that way, but it probably won't be this week.

Yep. USBR 1 used to go through Fort Belvoir, but since the Feds got uppity it's had a gap. Mulligan has been set to be USBR 1 for a while.

[1995hoo]

Dr. Gridlock reports VDOT marked the completion of the reconstruction of Route 50's interchanges near Fort Myer today, although some minor landscaping and punchlist items remain. I used 10th Street to access inbound Route 50 last month in late July and even with the project not yet being complete, it was still a huge improvement over the old access because they essentially built a left-side C/D road on inbound 50. The traffic lights weren't yet operational then.

Maybe next week I can check it out with the dashcam running, perhaps next Friday since we have Capitals preseason tickets that night and I can just head into the city a bit early.

[1995hoo]

For those who are interested in Virginia's secondary route numbers....

About half an hour ago I was on the road variously referred to as Jeff Todd Way and Mulligan Road (still no sign at the intersection with Telegraph, though an advance sign on southbound Telegraph says "Jeff Todd Way"). I noted it's been assigned secondary route number 619 based on a lone marker on the southbound side just after turning onto the road. Didn't see any other markers in either direction, but I presume the Route 619 designation extends down to Route 1 based on a photo I saw online of a marker with that number on southbound Route 1 outside Roy Rogers. (I have not gone through in that direction to confirm.) Pavement was in better condition than the last time I was on that road, too–less dirt and debris.

No photo of the "619" marker. I was going to use a dashcam screenshot, but sun glare made it useless. Oh well.

Also, to answer NE2's question about a bike route–no bike route signs I could spot, probably because there's to be a path next to the road and the path isn't finished yet. Some work was being done on the segment closest to Pole Road when I drove by, but currently the path's end at Telegraph Road is blocked with some of that orange netting and a "Sidewalk Closed" sign. (It's not a "sidewalk" in the normal suburban style of a concrete walkway since it uses asphalt. Hence my use of "path," as I think of an asphalt walkway as a "path" going back to when I was a little kid and our neighborhood had both concrete "sidewalks" and asphalt "paths," the latter not adjacent to the streets.)



Meanwhile, the construction up the road at Telegraph Road/Van Dorn Street/Kings Highway has really accelerated in the past two months. Traffic is using the new roadway instead of the temporary bypass that existed while they rebuilt the culvert over Dogue Creek. Southbound traffic on Kings Highway now has two left-turn lanes onto Telegraph. Southbound Telegraph widens at the intersection with Kings; currently the far left lane is blocked off, the middle lane goes straight on Telegraph, and the right lane is right-only onto Van Dorn. Northbound Telegraph is similar–left lane blocked off, second lane thru on Telegraph, right lane goes right onto Kings. Southbound Van Dorn has an unmarked center lane people are using as a left-turn lane.

Big improvement. Only notable problem for the moment is that people are, understandably, not familiar with the new traffic pattern, and because the work isn't done there aren't many signs up clarifying what lane goes where. (Not that completion of work, or posting of signs, would stop people from getting in the wrong lane and then trying to force their way over!)

[NE2]

About half an hour ago I was on the road variously referred to as Jeff Todd Way and Mulligan Road (still no sign at the intersection with Telegraph, though an advance sign on southbound Telegraph says "Jeff Todd Way"). I noted it's been assigned secondary route number 619 based on a lone marker on the southbound side just after turning onto the road. Didn't see any other markers in either direction, but I presume the Route 619 designation extends down to Route 1 based on a photo I saw online of a marker with that number on southbound Route 1 outside Roy Rogers.

It's been 619 for quite some time, probably from the beginning: http://research.archives.gov/description/5840300

Also, to answer NE2's question about a bike route–no bike route signs I could spot, probably because there's to be a path next to the road and the path isn't finished yet.

USBR 1 is explicitly defined to use roads, not sidepaths, elsewhere in Fairfax (e.g. reassurance on SR 123 southbound after the turn from SR 642).

[1995hoo]

Also, to answer NE2's question about a bike route–no bike route signs I could spot, probably because there's to be a path next to the road and the path isn't finished yet.

USBR 1 is explicitly defined to use roads, not sidepaths, elsewhere in Fairfax (e.g. reassurance on SR 123 southbound after the turn from SR 642).

Regardless of what may be the case elsewhere, there were no bike route signs there today.

[roadman65]

Where exactly is US 33's eastern terminus these days?  I see that on I-95 the Exit 74C exit guides show US 33 heading both directions on Broad Street.

I do remember back in 1995 the sign bridge on US 1 & 301 used to show it only heading west of there and that it continued as VA 33 east a few blocks north on Leigh Street while erroneously signed along US 1 & 301 as US 33 still.  According to GSV all signage pretty much at Broad and Belivdere Streets is now gone including the overheads.

However east on Broad there is a TO VA 33 shield shown in the median pointing north on Belvidere Street.   US 33 and VA 33 are supposed to be one continuous route aren't they?  So if that is the case then the I-95 signage is totally wrong then, unless VDOT took VA 33 off the MLK Bridge which it has always been for decades.

[Mapmikey]

I-95 BGS has been in error since 1981 when VA 33 was moved onto the MLK Jr bridge and shortly after US 33 was altered to meet it.

The US 33/VA 33 changeover is where it leaves Broad St.

There are numerous old and new erroneous US 33 shields north and east of there to the MLK Jr bridge.

Mapmikey

[roadman65]

Whoever wrote the wikipedia article says the route turns on Hancock NB from Broad.  I checked street view and Hancock is a one way SB.  Even Dale Sanderson is confused as he devoted one whole page to it trying to figure this thing out.

However, that is so messed up that an error on road signs still exist 33 years later.  Plus when VDOT took over the now defunct toll road, you think they would have gotten it right when they redid the exit numbering from the old Turnpike sequential to the VDOT sequential or even later when they finally went mile based.   Plus if memory serves me correctly, the original sequential signs for the Richmond- Petersburg Turnpike had the same type of set up as the NJ Turnpike with the exit numbers on the sign itself and did not use tabs at all.  If so those signs at the Broad Street ramps were totally replaced after 1981.

I would like to know what the City of Richmond's excuse is for taking down the overheads on US 1 and 301 at US 250 and not replacing them even with ground shields.  You would figure the person who ordered the crews to remove the sign would get the hint that the shields are there for a reason and that even if they cannot afford the replacement of a new mast arm that they do need to be there someplace. 

[Mapmikey]

The postings on 1-301 NB at Broad were removed between Apr 2009 and July 2011.  These were ground shields that replaced the overheads that had been up for decades and were unreadable.  US 250 is extremely poorly posted east of VA 161 and not posted at all east of I-95.

It has not been possible to follow 33 EB as defined on paper in quite some time.  Hancock is one way SB for only 1 block off Broad but the next E-W street (Marshall) is one way EB, so it is not possible to go past Hancock on Broad to get back to Hancock unless you go all the way to 1-301, but it is also illegal to turn left on Clay (one way WB).

There is a US 33 EAST trailblazer on Clay WB at Hancock but this is actually intended for SB 1-301 traffic trying to go East on VA 33.  They conveniently do not post the 1-301 SB and Clay intersection to do this.

This thread https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=8743.msg207809#msg207809 - from 2013 - has the most current information on this question and there is no reason to believe anything has changed about it.  i will be down there next week and can field check it again but expect no changes.

Dale Sanderson's discussion on the US 33 endpoint largely comes from me and AFAIK what he says there is accurate.

VDOT has also never added route shields to BGS's in the Hampton Roads area for several routes even though the BGS's have been replaced at least twice (VA 190, 225, 239, 247 etc) so the fact that the US 33 shields have persevered is not surprising.  There is a BGS in Fredericksburg that has been wrong for the last 42 years.

Mapmikey

[roadman65]

Thanks for the info.  I believe you are right, as I have had a photo that I took posted on Adam's old site, and come to think of it, it was old when I took the picture sometime in the early 2000's.http://www.gribblenation.com/papics/outofstate/Photo0101.jpg


Maybe you might be able to help me here.  Where was the Colonial Heights mainline toll plaza on I-95?

I do know that the I-95 plaza in Petersburg was  in between the I-85 ramps on and off,  and also was erected on mainline I-95, but indeed a ramp plaza as I-95 technically exited the old Richmond Petersburg Turnpike in Petersburg which is why it was always 15 cents up until removal.  Then the I-85 plaza was considered the southernmost mainline plaza on the Turnpike and was full price.

I also know the Richmond Plaza was south of Belvidere Street, but the other one plaza just south of Richmond I do not know where it was either.  I also remember all  ramp tolls south of VA 10 were unmanned and had no actual booths and shield to protect you from the weather when dropping your coins into a basket on the side of the ramp.  In addition the VA 10 interchange was always a full cloverleaf and had E-W suffixed exits and no ramp tolls whatsoever because it was the mid point between two mainline plazas and if you went north or south on I-95 from VA 10 you would either have to pay ramp tolls or run into the south of Richmond Plaza or the Colonial Heights Plaza.

  The Exit 2 ramp plaza was just beyond the ramp to I-85 SB, but before the NB I-85 merge into I-95 NB in the distance, and the SB exit for I-85 from I-95 byassed the plaza (hence the long ramp diverge as you can see) as this photo has plenty of evidence to see where the mainline looking ramp plaza stood years ago.

However, my memory does not remember the location of the two middle plazas of the Turnpike.   I do know that the Colonial Heights Mainline was not far from this location in the photo as I remember the short hop between these two plazas. 

Do you happen to remember where the location was for those two plazas and just how far south on I-85 from I-95 was the only toll on I-85 as there were no exits between I-95 and US 1 & 460 (now US 460 Business) at the existence of the Turnpike, so it could basically be anywhere in those several miles of formerly tolled Turnpike on I-85?

[NE2]

Maybe you might be able to help me here.  Where was the Colonial Heights mainline toll plaza on I-95?

Right in the middle of the SR 144 interchange: http://ims.er.usgs.gov/gda_services/download?item_id=5297208 (12 MB PDF)

You can see leftover extra wideness on the southbound bridge over the ramps.

[Mapmikey]

1968 aerial of the toll plaza at the current VA 144 interchange (this is looking SB on I-95)



1968 aerial of booths in the I-85/95 interchange:


1968 aerial of booths on I-85, in between US 1-460 interchange and VA 319 overpass:



Mapmikey

[KEVIN_224]

Break.com had this picture in their October 23, 2014 picture gallery. Not sure what road this contraption is on:

[1995hoo]

That looks like the eastbound Braddock Road overpass.

[froggie]

Besides the one that opened early this year at Zions Crossroads (I-64/US 15), VDOT has at least three more diverging diamond interchanges (DDI) planned in the next couple years.

One is at US 460/Southgate Dr near Virginia Tech.  This will get rid of the last traffic signal on the Blacksburg Bypass and complete a freeway segment running from the north end of the bypass to I-81.

The second DDI will be built at I-581/Valley View Blvd (Exit 3C) in Roanoke.  This project will take the existing half-interchange and convert it into a full interchange, with accommodation for an eventual extension of Valley View Blvd south of I-581.

Both DDIs are expected to be completed in 2016.

The third planned DDI is at I-66/US 15 in Haymarket.  This is a design-build project that is related to but separate from the adjacent I-66 widening project.  The previous plan at 66/15 was for a diamond interchange with a SB 15-to-EB 66 flyover.  The approved design-build bid was instead for a DDI, which is also noticeably cheaper ($36M vs. estimated $60M) than the previous plan.  This interchange isn't expected to be completed until 2017.

A DDI is also being considered at I-81/VA 8 near Christiansburg.

There's also the proposal I found late last year for a DDI-with-roundabout at I-264/Ballentine Blvd in Norfolk.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: A hated Virginia road summed up in 7 or fewer characters: 'I66BLOZ'

Kristan Barnes was sitting in traffic recently on Interstate 66, just before Exit 57B (Route 50/Lee Jackson Memorial Highway). The day was gray, and traffic, as usual, was at a standstill. And then the Fairfax receptionist spotted the Virginia license plate on a sporty red coupe and burst into laughter.

"I66 SUXX."

For Barnes, the seven-character sentiment offered a bit of levity to the daily slog on one of Northern Virginia's most notoriously traffic-choked arteries.

Long before Twitter allowed users to express themselves in 140 characters and Instagram in a single image, individuals were doing it in on the backs – and fronts – of their vehicles.

[NE2]

There are only two secondary route numbers that span four counties, and one of them cheats by running along a county line (though VDOT does include different portions in each county's traffic counts).
SR 600: Lancaster to Templeman, coincidentally both served by SR 3, and almost exactly the same length via either route
SR 611: southeast of South Hill to east of Jarratt, probably the shortest route between these two middle-of-nowhere points