Virginia

[kernals12]

The Jeff Davis Highway renaming saga continues. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved renaming the segment within the county.

They're officially renaming it "Route 1". As in, that's its actual name. Never mind that it's also US 301 or anything.

https://www.nbc12.com/2021/06/23/chesterfield-discuss-renaming-jefferson-davis-highway/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwbt

They should rename Harry Byrd highway first. The man closed all of Virginia's schools to avoid complying with Brown vs Board of Ed.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The Jeff Davis Highway renaming saga continues. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved renaming the segment within the county.

They're officially renaming it "Route 1". As in, that's its actual name. Never mind that it's also US 301 or anything.

https://www.nbc12.com/2021/06/23/chesterfield-discuss-renaming-jefferson-davis-highway/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwbt

They should rename Harry Byrd highway first. The man closed all of Virginia's schools to avoid complying with Brown vs Board of Ed.

I don't disagree.

[Mapmikey]

The Jeff Davis Highway renaming saga continues. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved renaming the segment within the county.

They're officially renaming it "Route 1". As in, that's its actual name. Never mind that it's also US 301 or anything.

https://www.nbc12.com/2021/06/23/chesterfield-discuss-renaming-jefferson-davis-highway/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwbt

They should rename Harry Byrd highway first. The man closed all of Virginia's schools to avoid complying with Brown vs Board of Ed.

This is historically inaccurate.  While Harry F Byrd did vigorously champion and lead Virginia's resistance to Brown v. Board (reason enough to not venerate him on a highway), there was never a state wide school closure (which he couldn't have unilaterally done anyway as a US Senator).  Desegregation was slow-walked as the majority of Virginia state leaders tried to find legal ways to maintain segregated schools.

Further court rulings prevented statewide closures of schools as a response to desegregation.  One county (Prince Edward) did close their public schools for 5 years in 1959.

Prince Edward (as did many counties in the South whether they integrated public schools immediately or not) provided help for White students for new private schools that could still exclude Black children.  Some of these private schools didn't accept non-White students until the mid 1980s.

[plain]

The Jeff Davis Highway renaming saga continues. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved renaming the segment within the county.

They're officially renaming it "Route 1". As in, that's its actual name. Never mind that it's also US 301 or anything.

https://www.nbc12.com/2021/06/23/chesterfield-discuss-renaming-jefferson-davis-highway/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwbt

They should rename Harry Byrd highway first. The man closed all of Virginia's schools to avoid complying with Brown vs Board of Ed.

I have a feeling it will happen soon enough.

I'm actually surprised at how quick Chesterfield County got out there with renaming it's portion of 1/301, given its politics in the past.

http://www.ctb.virginia.gov/resources/2021/april/3-interstate_operations_and_enhancement_program.pdf
According to this we should know within a month which interstate projects will be funded by the recent I-81 bill in which annual dedicated funding is allocated to I-81 and other interstates across the state. While we know the recommended projects for I-95 and I-64, what we don't know unlike with I-81 is their funding and timetables. For I-64 the top priority should be continued widening of the Williamsburg/Richmond four lane gap and improvements to the Oak Grove interchange (I-464). For I-95 the top priority should be widening to four lanes from Exit 130 to Exit 126 and improvements to the Fairfax County Parkway Interchange.

Agreed. VDOT also badly needs to do something about I-95, specifically southbound south of the Occoquan River. Widen the highway in that direction to 4 lanes plus that new auxiliary lane and let it go for a few more miles, at the minimum. The merge is poorly positioned and the backups seem to happen every day, well outside of peak hours. And whenever the HO/T lanes are positioned the opposite direction (as it often is - due to incompetency in building a proper 2 way setup), it's impossible to reliably bypass the congestion.

Regarding I-64, they need to begin a full environmental impact statement on the reconstruction of the I-64 / I-464 (Oak Grove Interchange) junction.

Regarding the Oak Grove Interchange, I also agree. The current interchange is a mess, and it sure as hell doesn't help that there's now five legs of freeway feeding into it. The process could've at least started when the Dominion Blvd project was going on. The way I see it, there needs to be at the very least 2 flyovers involving I-64: one from the Inner Loop to US 17 & VA 168 (would split at some point after leaving the interstate of course) and one from VA 168 NB to the Inner Loop. One thing is for sure, the existing loop ramp from 64 IL to 17/168 SB needs to be eliminated.

I'm sure there are some people on this forum who can draw up some concepts for this interchange...

[1995hoo]

Regarding Harry Byrd versus Jeff Davis, sooner or later they'll remove Byrd's name. I believe they removed his statue in Richmond. But he at least has a connection to Virginia. One of the arguments that has long been raised about Davis, aside from the obvious Confederate connection, is that he had no real connection to Virginia other than living in the White House in Richmond for a couple of years as president. I am not big on renaming roads for a host of reasons, not the least of which involves the cost and hassle to business owners (and to an immensely lesser degree, homeowners) located on the roads in question. But if they're going to rename them, which will surely be the case, then it seems perfectly normal to rename Jeff Davis first, both for the reason I just mentioned and because far more people know who Jeff Davis was than know who Harry Byrd was. In terms of visibility and such, Davis is almost certainly more confidential.

(Heck, Sen. Harry Byrd left the Senate in 1965 and died in 1966; meanwhile, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia served in the Senate from 1959 until his death in 2010. I saw something recently that discussed congressional action as to a particular statute in 1955 and 1988 and that referred to statements by "Sen. Byrd" taking one position in 1955 and then to statements showing that by 1988, "Sen. Byrd" had realized his position in 1955 was incorrect. They were two different men who were not related, as Robert Byrd was adopted.)

[hbelkins]

If we're going to rename stuff because of people's pasts, Robert Byrd should be tops on the list.

[1995hoo]

If we're going to rename stuff because of people's pasts, Robert Byrd should be tops on the list.

But I doubt Virginia has very much named after the Western Counties.

[plain]

Apparently Jeff Davis Hwy isn't the only road with a recent name change.

Looks like Hampton renamed Magruder Blvd (VA 134) to Neil Armstrong Pkwy. This had to be very recent.

Images from this morning



moto g(7) optimo (XT1952DL)

[74/171FAN]

Apparently Jeff Davis Hwy isn't the only road with a recent name change.

Looks like Hampton renamed Magruder Blvd (VA 134) to Neil Armstrong Pkwy. This had to be very recent.

Images from this morning

Recent as in the signs were just put up this week.  The change was voted on by the Hampton City Council in 2020 and was approved.

[hbelkins]

Apparently Jeff Davis Hwy isn't the only road with a recent name change.

Looks like Hampton renamed Magruder Blvd (VA 134) to Neil Armstrong Pkwy. This had to be very recent.

Images from this morning

Recent as in the signs were just put up this week.  The change was voted on by the Hampton City Council in 2020 and was approved.

Does he have some sort of significant tie to the area? I would expect this in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

[sprjus4]

Apparently Jeff Davis Hwy isn't the only road with a recent name change.

Looks like Hampton renamed Magruder Blvd (VA 134) to Neil Armstrong Pkwy. This had to be very recent.

Images from this morning

Recent as in the signs were just put up this week.  The change was voted on by the Hampton City Council in 2020 and was approved.

Does he have some sort of significant tie to the area? I would expect this in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

NASA Langley...

[Thing 342]

These signs were installed on Monday. The ones done by VDOT on I-64 went up slightly earlier, I think.

This dancing-arrow SPUI signage is unusual. Anyone know of any other examples of this? (I assume this was a City of Hampton job, not VDOT)

[sprjus4]

Picture from earlier on I-64... looks like they simply put greenout over the "Magruder Blvd" text.


They also replaced the signs on I-664 North approaching I-64... did not manage to get a picture of those, though they do not include the whole "Downtown Hampton" with the standalone I-64 shield... it's a proper "Norfolk Va Beach" and I-64 East. They also include "Exit Only" with two down arrows for each sign as opposed to single side arrow the old signs had. The signs did not look the cleanest though... especially for a VDOT install who is usually good on the interstate system (arterials are a whole different story... yikes)

This dancing-arrow SPUI signage is unusual. Anyone know of any other examples of this? (I assume this was a City of Hampton job, not VDOT)

Honestly, it's not a bad setup. I kind of like it.

[cpzilliacus]

The signs did not look the cleanest though... especially for a VDOT install who is usually good on the interstate system (arterials are a whole different story... yikes)

Signs on VDOT-maintained arterial highways are IMO generally pretty good.  Signs on arterials maintained by cities and towns range from very good to unspeakably bad.

[plain]

Picture from earlier on I-64... looks like they simply put greenout over the "Magruder Blvd" text.


They also replaced the signs on I-664 North approaching I-64... did not manage to get a picture of those, though they do not include the whole "Downtown Hampton" with the standalone I-64 shield... it's a proper "Norfolk Va Beach" and I-64 East. They also include "Exit Only" with two down arrows for each sign as opposed to single side arrow the old signs had. The signs did not look the cleanest though... especially for a VDOT install who is usually good on the interstate system (arterials are a whole different story... yikes)

This dancing-arrow SPUI signage is unusual. Anyone know of any other examples of this? (I assume this was a City of Hampton job, not VDOT)

Honestly, it's not a bad setup. I kind of like it.

I didn't use I-664 while I was in the area but the VDOT camera (pictured below) closest to the sign shows it, though it's not zoomed in.

As for the VA 134 sign and the dancing arrows Thing 342 referred to, not only is it rare at SPUIs, those arrows are very rare for VA altogether. The ramp from I-64 EB to I-564 & US 460 has downward slants but those aren't the same thing. I could've sworn I've seen one or two somewhere in NOVA years ago (maybe on I-395?) but if they were there I doubt that they exist today. The only one I know of still in existence today (and it's barely dancing) is on VA 76 NB at the split with I-195 & VA 195.

Images from GSV





moto g(7) optimo (XT1952DL)

[sprjus4]

https://youtu.be/I7ReT-npeCk

This footage from the traffic cameras from a wreck two weeks ago shows the new signage.

[1995hoo]

https://twitter.com/VaDOTNOVA/status/1409548460127358980

[D-Dey65]

The Jeff Davis Highway renaming saga continues. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved renaming the segment within the county.

They're officially renaming it "Route 1". As in, that's its actual name. Never mind that it's also US 301 or anything.

https://www.nbc12.com/2021/06/23/chesterfield-discuss-renaming-jefferson-davis-highway/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwbt

They really should've considered that before deciding on renaming the road.

[Takumi]

The Jeff Davis Highway renaming saga continues. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved renaming the segment within the county.

They're officially renaming it "Route 1". As in, that's its actual name. Never mind that it's also US 301 or anything.

https://www.nbc12.com/2021/06/23/chesterfield-discuss-renaming-jefferson-davis-highway/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwbt

They really should've considered that before deciding on renaming the road.

I'm both surprised and glad they didn't call it Richmond Highway like everywhere else, but...this was not the best choice. (Had I-95 not already been using the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike name, that would have been the best choice.)

[Jmiles32]

https://twitter.com/VaDOTNOVA/status/1409548460127358980

This is a big deal as VA-7 is now a limited access freeway from VA-28 all the way to Round Hill and even further west without traffic lights to Berryville. Will be interesting to see now what the next transportation priority for Leesburg is: Widening the rest of Route 7 between Leesburg and Purcellville (including the Leesburg Bypass) to six lanes or constructing one (or both) of the Edwards Ferry Road and Battlefield Parkway interchanges on the US-15 part of the bypass. At the moment all of the projects are at least some what off the ground design wise.

Curious as well to see if any more interchanges will be pursued on VA-7 both east of VA-28 (particularly at Sterling Blvd) and around Berryville (particularly at both of Bus. VA-7 lights (half interchanges), Crums Church Road, and at Future VA-37). At the moment a future interchange at Hillsboro Road is the only other one I'm aware of although I know originally a half interchange was planned at Baron Cameron Avenue as part of the ongoing VA-7 widening project near Tysons.

Meanwhile in other Virginia transportation news:
https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/route-123-flyover-bridge-under-consideration/article_225bcacc-d7bc-11eb-b849-5b6d44f2bede.html

Improvements at Old Bridge Road and state Route 123 in Woodbridge — one of the area's most congested intersections — could include a flyover ramp that would affect several businesses.

The first possible design is what VDOT calls an "outside-outside flyover,"  a ramp connecting the right two lanes of northbound 123 to the right two lanes of westbound Old Bridge Road. The ramp would replace the three left-turn lanes at the intersection for cars turning onto westbound Old Bridge.

County Planning Manager Paolo Belita told InsideNoVa there are two issues at the intersection. "There's the weaving movement when you're coming off of 95, we want to eliminate that and we're open to different ramp options,"  Belita said. "And on top of that, just to make sure that it improves overall operations at the intersection to minimize congestion. So it's both a safety and congestion-relieving project."

A flyover ramp of sorts was first proposed as part of the county's own study of the Old Bridge Road corridor in 2018, and $15 million for the project was approved by voters in a 2019 bond referendum.

"It's a county priority and based on that, we wanted to see what concept really works at this location,"  Belita said. "And the study is a good way to really help us identify a cost-effective solution for the location.

Surprised both that this is just now being addressed (lived in Lake Ridge 10 years ago and even then it was an issue) and that a flyover ramp of some sort is being considered as opposed to simply fixing the I-95 offramp (which is being considered but as a separate project). Either way I'm fine with this alternative, just curious to know what it will cost because surely $15-20 million will not be enough. 

[sprjus4]

This is a big deal as VA-7 is now a limited access freeway from VA-28 all the way to Round Hill and even further west without traffic lights to Berryville.

Close, but a couple at-grade crossings still exist between the Leesburg and Purcellville bypasses. But nonetheless, it is free flow expressway all the way west now.

The improvements on VA-7 also provide an adequate, reliable shunpiking alternative to the Dulles Greenway.

[cpzilliacus]

This is historically inaccurate.  While Harry F Byrd did vigorously champion and lead Virginia's resistance to Brown v. Board (reason enough to not venerate him on a highway), there was never a state wide school closure (which he couldn't have unilaterally done anyway as a US Senator).  Desegregation was slow-walked as the majority of Virginia state leaders tried to find legal ways to maintain segregated schools.

Further court rulings prevented statewide closures of schools as a response to desegregation.  One county (Prince Edward) did close their public schools for 5 years in 1959.

Prince Edward (as did many counties in the South whether they integrated public schools immediately or not) provided help for White students for new private schools that could still exclude Black children.  Some of these private schools didn't accept non-White students until the mid 1980s.

Regarding Harry Flood Byrd Sr., he did not directly control the public schools of the Commonwealth, but he did write the "Southern Manifesto" to defy the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the 1954 Brown case - and Byrd did start and run his statewide political organization known informally as the "Byrd Machine" (or "The Organization") and the program of "Massive Resistance" (designed by Byrd) against school desegregation.

This was not limited to Virginia either. 

There were segregation academies (usually run by "Christian" groups) in Prince George's County, Maryland after it was ordered by the federal courts to develop and implement a busing plan to reduce segregation (that failed as public schools are now more segregated than they were before busing in the 1970's and is no longer in effect).

EDIT:  Returning to our subject here of Virginia's road network, Byrd did do one thing that endures across most of Virginia, and it is IMO a good thing. That would be Byrd's system of primary highways (route numbers generally less than or equal to 599 with a few exceptions) and the system of secondary highways (route numbers generally 600 or greater) which were created by the Byrd Road Act of 1932.

[kernals12]

That new interchange I imagine is going to lead to a real estate boom in Western Loudoun and Clarke Counties.

[cpzilliacus]

That new interchange I imagine is going to lead to a real estate boom in Western Loudoun and Clarke Counties.

Is one interchange really going to do that?  There is already high-speed route in the form of VA-267 (Dulles Greenway), though it gets expensive if driven every day.

[froggie]

One could also argue that eastern Loudoun County is enough-in-the-sphere to where development will boom regardless of whether there's a given interchange or not...