Virginia

[AlexandriaVA]

VDOT postponed the Haymarket DDI opening again due to the forecast for sleet and freezing rain this Saturday.

They just need to give it up...

[Thing 342]

Drove through the I-64 widening project in Newport News this weekend. Seems to be progressing well enough, with the third lanes mostly needing a final coat of asphalt before they'll be ready. Much work still to be done on the bridges, however. There were signs advertising some sort of traffic pattern change effective 17 January, which I'm guessing is just lowering the speed limit of Phase 2 (Exit 247 to Exit 242) as work on it gets underway.

[74/171FAN]

Latest scores from Smart Scale for FY 2018 are out.

I already posted an article about the possible ending of the US 460 project due to its own score in its particular thread.

US 29 update from Charlottesville Tomorrow:  With Rio intersection done, attention turns to Hydraulic Road

[plain]

Thanks for that Smart Scale update.
Unfortunate for US 460 (I mostly say this because Virginia spent so much money on it for nothing to happen  ) but I'm glad to see several other projects finally seem to be getting the go ahead. Among them are:

- Kings Highway Bridge in Suffolk. I'm pretty sure this will be tolled but it would be worth it considering that incredibly long detour, plus it would actually make VA 125 legit again lmao

- The entire I-95/I-64 overlap will finally be getting highway lighting, something that is decades overdue

- VA 171 widening east of VA 134 (probably will stop just inside Poquoson, which is fine

- the state seems to be fast tracking the rest of the widening of I-64 between Richmond and Newport News

[LM117]

US 29 update from Charlottesville Tomorrow:  With Rio intersection done, attention turns to Hydraulic Road

I see the pipe dream of extending I-83 from Baltimore to Greensboro is still floating around.

Right now, I'd just like to see the US-29 freeway around Lynchburg extended south from US-460 to existing US-29 south of Lynchburg. US-29 just south of US-460 is a parking lot that is often jammed with trucks. I used to like to go to Lynchburg for shopping when I lived in Farmville, but now it's much easier going to Greensboro from here. Coming into Lynchburg on US-29 from the south is a pain in the ass.

[Takumi]

Wow, didn't know the VA 125 bridge replacement was still alive.

[cpzilliacus]

- The entire I-95/I-64 overlap will finally be getting highway lighting, something that is decades overdue

VDOT and before VDOT, VDH, was never that great about installing lights on freeways of Northern Virginia. 

The Capital Beltway (I-495) was nearly entirely dark from the  American Legion Bridge to Springfield, with a few exceptions, until it was essentially reconstructed as part of the Transurban HOV/Toll lane project and lighting added.  Even now, it  is rather dark from the north end of the Transurban lanes to the  end of VDOT maintenance at the American  Legion  Bridge.  As recently as the 1990's, I-66 was almost entirely dark from Gainesville to the I-495 interchange.  For some reason, the Beltway on the Virginia side of the Woodrow Wilson  Bridge was always pretty well lighted.

There are still some "dark spots" along the VA-267 (Dulles Toll Road) corridor (now maintained by MWAA, not VDOT).

The  one freeway in Northern Virginia that was always decently lighted was Shirley Highway (I-395 now) from  Springfield to the D.C. border at the Potomac River.

[cpzilliacus]

US 29 update from Charlottesville Tomorrow:  With Rio intersection done, attention turns to Hydraulic Road

I see the pipe dream of extending I-83 from Baltimore to Greensboro is still floating around.

That suggestion has been rattling around the Internet since the days of MTR and maybe before, and got the Piedmont Environmental Council so upset that VDOT actually wrote the PEC people a letter saying there were no plans for that  in the  Six Year Program, and there was no intent that it would ever end up there.

[OracleUsr]

I remember the I-83 project from the early 90's.  I guess I had no idea how much US 29 uses surface streets to this day.

Besides the Gulf station at Amherst (with the tin sign) is a gem not to miss.  Wish I had gotten a picture of it when I was on US 29.

[froggie]

- Kings Highway Bridge in Suffolk. I'm pretty sure this will be tolled but it would be worth it considering that incredibly long detour, plus it would actually make VA 125 legit again lmao

I was under the impression, based on a Virginia Pilot article, that the Kings Highway Bridge did not score well enough to be granted funding.

[AlexandriaVA]

I see that Columbia Pike scored well, but in the absence of the streetcar, and with the phantom BRT program never getting off the ground, I wonder what the plan actually is.

[Thing 342]

Disappointed that the Exit 255C project in Newport News got screened out, as that would have diverted a large amount of the traffic trying to get to the shopping centres off of Jefferson Ave.

[74/171FAN]

- Kings Highway Bridge in Suffolk. I'm pretty sure this will be tolled but it would be worth it considering that incredibly long detour, plus it would actually make VA 125 legit again lmao

I was under the impression, based on a Virginia Pilot article, that the Kings Highway Bridge did not score well enough to be granted funding.

That is the way I am reading it, but the fact that it is not completely dead seems shocking at this point.

[plain]

Wow, didn't know the VA 125 bridge replacement was still alive.

- Kings Highway Bridge in Suffolk. I'm pretty sure this will be tolled but it would be worth it considering that incredibly long detour, plus it would actually make VA 125 legit again lmao

I was under the impression, based on a Virginia Pilot article, that the Kings Highway Bridge did not score well enough to be granted funding.

That is the way I am reading it, but the fact that it is not completely dead seems shocking at this point.

I was shocked too when I saw it was still alive. I'm actually glad it is though... the closure of that bridge literary made it hassling (in a few cases impossible) for people to see their families on whatever side of the river, even if it were to just check up on them. Whether or not the bridge will actually get built in our lifetime (if ever) is up in the air, but at least it's still alive and I'm kinda feeling optimistic about it

[plain]

- The entire I-95/I-64 overlap will finally be getting highway lighting, something that is decades overdue

VDOT and before VDOT, VDH, was never that great about installing lights on freeways of Northern Virginia. 

The Capital Beltway (I-495) was nearly entirely dark from the  American Legion Bridge to Springfield, with a few exceptions, until it was essentially reconstructed as part of the Transurban HOV/Toll lane project and lighting added.  Even now, it  is rather dark from the north end of the Transurban lanes to the  end of VDOT maintenance at the American  Legion  Bridge.  As recently as the 1990's, I-66 was almost entirely dark from Gainesville to the I-495 interchange.  For some reason, the Beltway on the Virginia side of the Woodrow Wilson  Bridge was always pretty well lighted.

There are still some "dark spots" along the VA-267 (Dulles Toll Road) corridor (now maintained by MWAA, not VDOT).

The  one freeway in Northern Virginia that was always decently lighted was Shirley Highway (I-395 now) from  Springfield to the D.C. border at the Potomac River.

Yeah, tell me about it. VDOT has never really been big on lighting highways for a considerable length, no matter how bad it's needed, except for the Shirley Hwy example you mentioned (plus they seem to have been going hard in the paint for Hampton Roads since at least the late 1980's smdh). Still, they've gotten a lot better in that regard in NOVA in the last 20 years as you also pointed out and in Bristol, but still seem to neglect certain other areas (like Roanoke's I-581), while overkilling it in others, like the I-95/US 58 interchange in Emporia. Before the current high mast lighting was in place in Richmond on 95 (installed 1999-2001), it still had lighting only in the same places it did when it first opened as the Turnpike (1958)... matter of fact, the high mast project added new lighting only to 95 from the Maury St exit south a mile.

[cpzilliacus]

I was under the impression, based on a Virginia Pilot article, that the Kings Highway Bridge did not score well enough to be granted funding.

Before the bridge was closed, it carried about 3,300 ADT, according to Wikipedia.  Probably not enough to make a toll crossing worthwhile. 

IMO this also points up a flaw in  the  HB 2 process.  A possible replacement of this bridge is a matter of network connectivity and network redundancy, which are admittedly difficult to score.

[Mapmikey]

I was under the impression, based on a Virginia Pilot article, that the Kings Highway Bridge did not score well enough to be granted funding.

Before the bridge was closed, it carried about 3,300 ADT, according to Wikipedia.  Probably not enough to make a toll crossing worthwhile. 

IMO this also points up a flaw in  the  HB 2 process.  A possible replacement of this bridge is a matter of network connectivity and network redundancy, which are admittedly difficult to score.

Wikipedia typos or misquotes the AADT from the Virginia Pilot article it cites (it is an interesting article - http://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/getting-nowhere-on-the-kings-highway-bridge/article_c379c5d0-9aea-5dfe-947a-f47603167327.html).  It is only 3000, which is consistent with the traffic logs in the last couple years the bridge was open.

[Takumi]

My second road-related act as an eccentric billionaire, after paying off the 895 toll bonds and giving it the interstate shield it deserves, would be to pay for a new King's Highway bridge.

[cpzilliacus]

Wikipedia typos or misquotes the AADT from the Virginia Pilot article it cites (it is an interesting article - http://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/getting-nowhere-on-the-kings-highway-bridge/article_c379c5d0-9aea-5dfe-947a-f47603167327.html).  It is only 3000, which is consistent with the traffic logs in the last couple years the bridge was open.

I did not cross-check it  with  the published VDOT data, but 3,000 is less than 3,300, and makes it less likely that toll financing would work.

[froggie]

A new Kings Highway Bridge would be a "nice to have", but I don't see it as drastically needed.  Even when the old bridge was operational, it just didn't have a lot of traffic.  While not having the bridge is a pain for those on the Chuckatuck side, it's not a show-stopper either.  For those who live closest to the old bridge on the Chuckatuck side, it's about 10 miles longer getting to Bowers Hill and about 3.5 miles longer getting to 664/164 than it was when the bridge was in place.  The closer one lives to Route 10/Godwin Blvd, the shorter this additional mileage becomes.  In fact, for those in Chuckatuck proper, it was actually longer to get to 664/164 via the Kings Hwy Bridge than it is via other routes (namely Crittenden Rd up to 17).

Also, plans for a new Kings Highway Bridge have it continuing due west to Route 10 instead of crossing north to Hollidays Point like the old bridge did, so a new bridge is really more about "network redundancy" (as CP noted) than it is about traffic or reconnecting neighborhoods on each side of the old bridge.

As for 895, I don't think removing the tolls would do much there.  Also, in the eyes of the FHWA, giving 895 an Interstate shield would be problematic because the interchange at 95 is not a full interchange (FHWA frowns upon incomplete interchanges).  A waiver could be pursued, but without that waiver, FHWA wouldn't approve an "I-895".

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Part of Chain Bridge Road in Fairfax closing for 1 year

A Fairfax, Virginia, road will close beginning Wednesday as crews work on a yearlong project.

Route 123, also known as Chain Bridge Road, will close just north of Fairfax Boulevard in the section between Route 29/50 and Interstate 66 at midnight Wednesday. The closure will last about one year, said Fairfax Traffic Engineer Curt McCullough.

The closure is part of the Northfax Intersection & Drainage Improvements project. It aims to "increase capacity, improve pedestrian mobility and safety, improve traffic flow, and eliminate flooding in the intersection,"  according to the project's website.

The project also will include lane closures on southbound Route 123, but the southbound roadway section will remain open through the project.

[cpzilliacus]

As for 895, I don't think removing the tolls would do much there.  Also, in the eyes of the FHWA, giving 895 an Interstate shield would be problematic because the interchange at 95 is not a full interchange (FHWA frowns upon incomplete interchanges).  A waiver could be pursued, but without that waiver, FHWA wouldn't approve an "I-895".

I don't think the tolls on 895 will go away anytime soon, though  how many times has it been through bankruptcy since it  opened to traffic?  Twice?

VDOT could probably afford to complete the interchange out of its own dollars, but I am not sure the missing ramps would pass the scoring process.

[epzik8]

WTOP Radio: Part of Chain Bridge Road in Fairfax closing for 1 year

A Fairfax, Virginia, road will close beginning Wednesday as crews work on a yearlong project.

Route 123, also known as Chain Bridge Road, will close just north of Fairfax Boulevard in the section between Route 29/50 and Interstate 66 at midnight Wednesday. The closure will last about one year, said Fairfax Traffic Engineer Curt McCullough.

The closure is part of the Northfax Intersection & Drainage Improvements project. It aims to "increase capacity, improve pedestrian mobility and safety, improve traffic flow, and eliminate flooding in the intersection,"  according to the project's website.

The project also will include lane closures on southbound Route 123, but the southbound roadway section will remain open through the project.

I hate driving through Fairfax. I hate Fairfax County.

[74/171FAN]

There will be a public meeting January 25th on the I-95 project that will construct a C/D Road SB between US 17 and VA 3.  This includes a new bridge over the Rappahannock River.

Both the I-95 C/D Road project and the VA 3 interchange project were displayed at the public meeting last night.  I am glad that there will be two lanes going from US 17 SB (mentioned as EB) to I-95 SB now.  The other huge change will be that VA 3 traffic will have to exit at the north end of the C/D Road before the US 17 exit.

[cpzilliacus]

There will be a public meeting January 25th on the I-95 project that will construct a C/D Road SB between US 17 and VA 3.  This includes a new bridge over the Rappahannock River.

Both the I-95 C/D Road project and the VA 3 interchange project were displayed at the public meeting last night. 

I am glad that there will be two lanes going from US 17 SB (mentioned as EB) to I-95 SB now.

That is excellent news.  Will anything be done about I-95 northbound to U.S. 17 northbound?

The other huge change will be that VA 3 traffic will have to exit at the north end of the C/D Road before the US 17 exit.

IMO that is not such a problem.  Maryland did something similar for I-95 northbound in Prince George's County when the MD-200 interchange was built.  All traffic wanting to exit to MD-198 (and the new Konterra Drive) must now use the C-D lanes which start south of MD-200.  A Jersey wall deters drivers in the four mainline lanes from trying to exit at MD-200 or Konterra Drive or MD-198.