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Author Topic: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA  (Read 5461 times)

hbelkins

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Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« on: December 19, 2017, 03:08:15 PM »

I made the journey this weekend to what was billed as a "mini meet" to see the new US 301 turnpike construction and some bridges in Delaware, but turned out a decent-sized crowd. (Oscar posted the meet photo in the meet thread).

Since daylight is in such short supply, and I had some exploring I wanted to do, I left work early Thursday drove to Hillsville, Va. Not a lot new to report along the route I usually take (KY 15, US 119, US 23, Alternate US 58, I-81 and I-77). I did notice several of the mileage signs along Alternate 58 had been replaced with mixed-case FHWA (they were previously all-caps FHWA, and some had been replaced with either all-caps or mixed case Clearview previously.) Also noticed a couple of error circle markers for VA 140 and the 3xx-series state route that intersects it between US 11/19 and I-81. That interchange is also being reconfigured to eliminate the loop ramp from VA 140 to northbound I-81, and unisignage for I-81/US 58 has been installed.

I got up early Friday morning in Hillsville and headed east on US 58, noticing the new four-lane alignment west of the Meadows of Dan bypass is complete. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any deer during my pre-daylight travels. The sun was starting to come up between Stuart and Martinsville, but it didn't cause any issues because it was overcast.

I had to take the business route into downtown Danville because my goal was to clinch US 360, and I had never been on that segment between its terminus and the bypass. Signage and pavement conditions in Danville were much better than in many Virginia independent cities. A resurfacing project was taking place in Danville, which surprised me being this late in the year.

US 360's been discussed quite often. Its western terminus makes no sense; it really should be truncated to South Boston. The route itself was a typical rural Virginia four-lane and not heavily traveled until you get almost to VA 288, where it quickly becomes a busy route. Inside the city of Richmond, signage and pavement were both atrocious. There's no signage whatsoever where US 1/US 301 cross 360. The pavement quality improves dramatically beyond I-64 where the state takes over again.

Past I-295, traffic thins out dramatically. Again, I don't understand why this corridor needed to have a US route assigned to it, or why it even has to be four lanes. It seemed to me that two lanes would have been adequate. And even if you grant the premise that the road needs four lanes between Richmond/Mechanicsville and Tappahannock, why it needed to be four lanes most all of the way to Reedville. If I ran things, I'd probably either truncate it to US 17 at Tappahannock or run it along VA 3 and VA 205 to terminate at US 301 at Dahlgren.

After reaching Reedville, I had to backtrack to Callao, then took VA 202 to VA 3 to US 301 to turn north toward Annapolis, which was my base for the weekend. There were several tractor-trailers going through the traffic light there, which made me think they were avoiding I-95. They may have been surprised to find the weigh station near Dahlgren open.

I had filled up Thursday afternoon near St. Paul and Friday mid-day near Mechanicsville, but I topped off at the Sheetz at Dahlgren because I expected gas to be significantly more expensive in Maryland (it wasn't.) It had begun flurrying after I left Reedville. I crossed the OK Bridge (I don't know what's so Nice about it, LOL) and it was snowing a little harder. I got into the La Plata area around 4 p.m. and the roads were starting to get covered. Traffic was also a nightmare; much worse than I anticipated for a Friday afternoon before the work day was over. I saw at least three wrecks and even heard one of them occur; it happened just in front of me.

I had plugged my destination into Google Maps, and it alerted me to a wreck causing delays on US 301 between MD 4 and US 50, so it routed me onto MD 4 east/south to MD 408 to MD 2 to get on to Annapolis. Traffic was flowing OK, although there was a wreck on MD 4 just past the on-ramp from US 301, but the drive wasn't pleasant. The road was snow-covered in spots, traffic was bumper-to-bumper coming back from Annapolis, I couldn't use my bright lights because of the oncoming traffic, and dirt from the road had lessened the effectiveness of my headlights. It was hard to find lane markings once MD 2 widened to four lanes. But I made it to my room without incident and didn't venture out the rest of the night.



Saturday's trip to the meet was straightforward -- US 301 north to DE 896 to I-95 to the service plaza, and the reverse back to Annapolis. No new territory was covered for me here. The meet itself was enjoyable -- thanks to both Alexes to putting it together and to Steve for lunch.



Because I accomplished my goal of clinching US 360 on Friday, I decided to take a more northerly route to go get that final segment of WV 29 I needed to clinch West Virginia's primary system. I opted to cover some new territory so I took US 50 to the BW Parkway, then south onto DC 295, then across I-695 to I-395, then VA 110 to I-66. I saw plenty of "photo enforced" signs, but never saw the actual cameras along my route. There's still a smattering of button copy left on I-395, mostly near Maine Avenue. Traffic was very light, and if I hadn't been intent on getting to West Virginia as quickly as possible, I would have spent some time exploring the area. I had no issues getting out I-66, and saw a couple of state-named markers before I got to the Beltway.

I stopped at the Sheetz at Haymarket and used the DDI there, but was more impressed with what's happened with that Sheetz. It appears to have been completely rebuilt from the last time I was there, which was September 2015. I would guess they demolished the old building and erected an entirely new structure. I also noted with interest that gas was 15 cents a gallon cheaper than the Sheetz locations near Winchester, so after checking the Sheetz app for prices, I filled up.

I took I-66 to US 17, which I used to access US 50. There is absolutely NO reason for the 45 mph speed limit and the truck ban on that stretch of 17. The road is wide and relatively flat and straight. It really should terminate at US 50, though, because there's no logical reason for the concurrency on into downtown Winchester.

Most of the signage in Winchester has been replaced with decent-looking modern signage. There's one cutout assembly on eastbound 50/southbound 17-522 not too far from I-81, and a lone cutout 50 marker eastbound just west of the downtown area.

WV 29 south to Corridor H was uneventful. Nothing really new to report on that segment of Corridor H. There was a decent amount of snow on the ground once you reach the top of the Fore Knobs and on through Bismarck, Davis, Thomas, and down toward Parsons.

Some construction is evident in the Moore community south of Parsons. I didn't see any evidence of construction at the current end of the four-lane at Kerens, although several temporary trailers have been moved onto the unused pavement on the south side of the bridges. Several "Kokosing Construction Entrance" signs have been erected along US 219/48 at intersections with county routes. Perhaps there might be enough to see to do a second Corridor H meet, centered on Elkins, once work gets really rolling.

I opted to take a southern route home, so I exited I-79 at US 19 and took Corridor L to Beckley. I actually got to see the infamous Summersville speed trap in operation. A local police car was parked in the median, ostensibly monitoring northbound traffic, approaching a traffic light beyond the commercial area where Walmart and Sheetz are located. However, that cop pulled out and nabbed someone heading south, down the hill. Thankfully my V-1 alerted me in plenty of time, although I would have been slowing down for the traffic light anyway because of the wet roads. The long-running work zone on the New River Gorge bridge had finally been taken down, and all four lanes were open.

I stopped at the Tamarack travel plaza and made a room reservation online. When I went into the plaza to use the restroom, I walked around and noticed that the chain restaurants there all have signs stating they do not take coupons. That's a crock, but I guess the concessionaires can do pretty much what they want, given that I had paid $4.50 for a not-that-big ice cream cone the day before at the Delaware plaza.



I overnighted in Princeton and headed west Monday morning via I-77 south, US 52 north and US 460 west. I had noticed that gas at the Shell near my motel was $2.459, and was two cents higher at the nearby Sheetz. I'm beginning to notice that Sheetz is no longer the low price leader in many markets. However, I wanted to wait until I got to Virginia to get gas because prices are always significantly lower. I didn't think I had enough gas to get to the Walmart near the US 19/460 split, because prices there are usually very low. I filled up at a Food City Gas-n-Go just inside the state line at Bluefield for $2.159, a full 30 cents cheaper than what I would have paid in West Virginia. Turns out I would have had enough gas to get to that Walmart, which is a shame because it was $2.079 there. I got a picture of a set of very old US 460 markers near that Bluefield stop. It appears that some of the signage at the exit from US 460 to VA Secondary 720/VA 120 has been replaced, but I did see a couple of those white "I-102" signs are still there.

After passing through Grundy, I took VA Secondary 609 across the mountain to see progress on US 460 construction between Harman and Breaks, then checked out some of the construction near Breaks. I also checked out what's been done on KY 1373 off KY 80 near Elkhorn City, as well as Pond Creek of Draffin (as they call it locally) where they are clearing trees for what will be the tallest highway bridge in Kentucky when completed. I stayed on old US 460 instead of taking KY 195 to the future route.

Had lunch at Dairy Cheer in Pikeville. 35 years ago, this was a thriving regional chain. I was especially fond of the location in Morehead and ate there often when I was in college. It closed sometime shortly after I graduated, and many other locations have closed over the years. I had the Smasharue burger, but it wasn't as good as I remember it being. I don't know how many Dairy Cheers are remaining.

Progress is really being made on the Mountain Parkway widening project. Four lanes are open near the KY 30 interchange (Exit 72) and work is coming along near the KY 7 exit. There's also another project that starts at the KY 205 interchange in Wolfe County and extends through the entire Morgan County segment and well into Magoffin County.

All in all, a good trip except for the latter part of Friday due to weather and traffic concerns.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2017, 05:22:21 PM »

Quote
US 360's been discussed quite often. Its western terminus makes no sense; it really should be truncated to South Boston. The route itself was a typical rural Virginia four-lane and not heavily traveled until you get almost to VA 288, where it quickly becomes a busy route.

That part of US 360 has always fascinated me as it goes from 4 lanes to 8 lanes very quickly.  Looking at GSV, going EB it becomes 6 lanes just before Woodlake Village Pkwy now with the 8-lane section starting at SR 654 (Spring Run Rd) continuing to VA 288.

Quote
I took I-66 to US 17, which I used to access US 50. There is absolutely NO reason for the 45 mph speed limit and the truck ban on that stretch of 17. The road is wide and relatively flat and straight. It really should terminate at US 50, though, because there's no logical reason for the concurrency on into downtown Winchester.

Yet I will usually use it over taking I-66 all the way to/from I-81 anyway.  Ideally, all but the southern mile or so from I-66 to the railroad crossing should be 55.
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1995hoo

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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2017, 05:45:41 PM »

The signs on that stretch of 17 say the 45-mph limit is strictly enforced, but I've never seen any enforcement along there. I tend to be careful about my speed on that segment more because usually I'm on there after visiting wineries, so I don't want to give them any reason to stop me.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2017, 07:18:39 PM »

Quote from: hbelkins
US 360's been discussed quite often. Its western terminus makes no sense; it really should be truncated to South Boston.

Or, depending on your viewpoint, replace US 311 down to Winston-Salem...

Quote
Past I-295, traffic thins out dramatically. Again, I don't understand why this corridor needed to have a US route assigned to it, or why it even has to be four lanes. It seemed to me that two lanes would have been adequate. And even if you grant the premise that the road needs four lanes between Richmond/Mechanicsville and Tappahannock, why it needed to be four lanes most all of the way to Reedville. If I ran things, I'd probably either truncate it to US 17 at Tappahannock or run it along VA 3 and VA 205 to terminate at US 301 at Dahlgren.

Despite the appearances you saw, US 360 carries enough average daily traffic to warrant 4 lanes most of the way from Richmond to VA 3, and even stays above 5K AADT (an appreciable figure for a 2-lane road) as far out as VA 201.  East of there it becomes more seasonal, with higher volumes in the summer and lower in the winter (i.e. this past weekend when you drove it).

You may have a point regarding whether it needs to be a US route east of Tappahannock, but most of the 4-laning is warranted from an overall traffic standpoint.

Quote
I saw plenty of "photo enforced" signs, but never saw the actual cameras along my route.

Some of the cameras are hidden, so if you were speeding appreciably, I'd stand by for a ticket in the mail.  Other signs point to locations where MPD uses portable cameras.  The trick is to look for pavement markings that are perpendicular to the lane markings.

Quote
I took I-66 to US 17, which I used to access US 50. There is absolutely NO reason for the 45 mph speed limit and the truck ban on that stretch of 17.

The 45 MPH limit and truck ban are partially justified in one location...namely northbound approaching the railroad crossing, where a combination of the downhill grade beforehand and the limited sight distance make it problematic if there's a train passing through.  Otherwise, both represent a successful effort by Fauquier County residents to encourage ALL traffic (not just trucks) to use I-66 to I-81 to get to Winchester.  VDOT went along with it because the more traffic they can get to use the Interstates, the less pressure there is to widen US 17, which would be very bitterly fought.

Quote
I filled up at a Food City Gas-n-Go just inside the state line at Bluefield for $2.159, a full 30 cents cheaper than what I would have paid in West Virginia. Turns out I would have had enough gas to get to that Walmart, which is a shame because it was $2.079 there.

I don't think an $0.08/gal difference is going to make or break you.  Plus personally, I'd rather support more local businesses than WalMart which by and large will just suck most of the money back to Bentonville, AR.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2017, 08:54:24 AM »

Quote
I took I-66 to US 17, which I used to access US 50. There is absolutely NO reason for the 45 mph speed limit and the truck ban on that stretch of 17.

The 45 MPH limit and truck ban are partially justified in one location...namely northbound approaching the railroad crossing, where a combination of the downhill grade beforehand and the limited sight distance make it problematic if there's a train passing through.  Otherwise, both represent a successful effort by Fauquier County residents to encourage ALL traffic (not just trucks) to use I-66 to I-81 to get to Winchester.  VDOT went along with it because the more traffic they can get to use the Interstates, the less pressure there is to widen US 17, which would be very bitterly fought.

Yesterday, I did pass an oil tanker on US 17 SB/US 50 EB just before US 17 turned onto this portion. The oil tanker did make the turn and stayed significantly enough behind for me to see it so I guess it did not get caught in this instance.
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hbelkins

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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2017, 09:15:19 PM »


Some of the cameras are hidden, so if you were speeding appreciably, I'd stand by for a ticket in the mail.

Nope. I stuck to 50 mph precisely because of the cameras. Interesting that Waze will alert to red light cams but not speed cams.

Quote
The 45 MPH limit and truck ban are partially justified in one location...namely northbound approaching the railroad crossing, where a combination of the downhill grade beforehand and the limited sight distance make it problematic if there's a train passing through.

There's a relatively new-looking sign with flashers to alert to the presence of a train. I don't know if the entire assembly is new, or just the sign, but the sign appears to be fairly new.

Quote
I don't think an $0.08/gal difference is going to make or break you.  Plus personally, I'd rather support more local businesses than WalMart which by and large will just suck most of the money back to Bentonville, AR.

They kept the other stations in the area honest, though. Everyone else in that immediate area was the same price or maybe a penny more.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2017, 11:54:20 AM »


Some of the cameras are hidden, so if you were speeding appreciably, I'd stand by for a ticket in the mail.

Nope. I stuck to 50 mph precisely because of the cameras. Interesting that Waze will alert to red light cams but not speed cams.

Stand by for the potential, anyway.  295 is 50 MPH (and you're lucky, because it used to be 45), but I believe 695 is 45 MPH and it drops to 40 MPH where 395 merges in from the 3rd St Tunnel.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #7 on: December 25, 2017, 07:28:11 AM »

froggie is correct, I-695 is posted at 45 (it was raised a few years ago) and I-395 west of the tunnel is posted at 40. The DC Council were making noise a few years ago about lowering I-695 to 40, but they haven’t done so. There aren’t any fixed cameras on I-695, though occasionally they’ll use a mobile camera attached to a police car. There used to be a fixed camera on westbound I-395 at the Maine Avenue split, but I believe it’s no longer active (this because I’ve sped past there multiple times within the past two months without a ticket). I don’t know whether the eastbound camera just after the Maine Avenue/Nats Park exit is still active, but it wouldn’t affect hbelkins anyway.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #8 on: December 25, 2017, 04:23:46 PM »

froggie is correct, I-695 is posted at 45 (it was raised a few years ago) and I-395 west of the tunnel is posted at 40. The DC Council were making noise a few years ago about lowering I-695 to 40, but they haven’t done so. There aren’t any fixed cameras on I-695, though occasionally they’ll use a mobile camera attached to a police car. There used to be a fixed camera on westbound I-395 at the Maine Avenue split, but I believe it’s no longer active (this because I’ve sped past there multiple times within the past two months without a ticket). I don’t know whether the eastbound camera just after the Maine Avenue/Nats Park exit is still active, but it wouldn’t affect hbelkins anyway.
I think it's terrible for any interstate to be signed for any speed less than 50, even if there are curves or traffic or many weaving ramps.  (Advisory speed limits are still OK if warranted.)   Sometimes you need to reach a certain speed in order to overtake other traffic to enter the correct lane, especially on the Southwest freeway as ramps come and go constantly and you have to merge regularly to get in the proper lane.  It is also terrible to put the speed cameras on freeways in the first place. 

It is a special way of saying welcome to DC, now pay.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2018, 07:55:54 AM »

Quote from: hbelkins
Past I-295, traffic thins out dramatically. Again, I don't understand why this corridor needed to have a US route assigned to it, or why it even has to be four lanes. It seemed to me that two lanes would have been adequate. And even if you grant the premise that the road needs four lanes between Richmond/Mechanicsville and Tappahannock, why it needed to be four lanes most all of the way to Reedville. If I ran things, I'd probably either truncate it to US 17 at Tappahannock or run it along VA 3 and VA 205 to terminate at US 301 at Dahlgren.
Despite the appearances you saw, US 360 carries enough average daily traffic to warrant 4 lanes most of the way from Richmond to VA 3, and even stays above 5K AADT (an appreciable figure for a 2-lane road) as far out as VA 201.  East of there it becomes more seasonal, with higher volumes in the summer and lower in the winter (i.e. this past weekend when you drove it).
You may have a point regarding whether it needs to be a US route east of Tappahannock, but most of the 4-laning is warranted from an overall traffic standpoint.

In the Virginia Arterial Highway System established in 1964 (rolled into the NHS in 2003), US-360 was to be 4-laned all the way to Reedville, and the vast majority was.  Due to low traffic and other priorities I don't think any of the current 2-lane sections have been in the Six-Year Program for at least 15 years.

Even on the 4-laned US-360 section west of Heathsville, two of the villages have a brief 2-lane section, Callao which has a right-angle turn and should have a bypass, and Lottsburg.  And the Rappahannock River bridge is a modern-era high-level design built in 1965, but has two lanes.

Warsaw has 4 lanes on US-360 but they are narrow, probably 10 feet wide, and the road is undivided.  A modern 4-lane highway should have 12-foot lanes and as a divider at minimum a 10-foot continuous center turn lane.

Tappahannock could use a bypass that carries both US-17 and US-360, I have mapped out several alternatives.  Not sure if any has ever been officially proposed.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2018, 01:09:07 PM by Beltway »
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2018, 09:49:02 PM »

Quote
Tappahannock could use a bypass that carries both US-17 and US-360, I have mapped out several alternatives.  Not sure if any has ever been officially proposed.

The 2010 Highway Plan that came out ca. 1990 envisioned a Tappahannock bypass.  Nothing came out of it, of course...

Problem with a potential bypass is the massive amount of wetlands southwest of town along Hoskins Creek (north of the hospital) and northwest of town along Mount Landing Creek.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2018, 10:21:56 PM »

Quote
Tappahannock could use a bypass that carries both US-17 and US-360, I have mapped out several alternatives.  Not sure if any has ever been officially proposed.
The 2010 Highway Plan that came out ca. 1990 envisioned a Tappahannock bypass.  Nothing came out of it, of course...
Problem with a potential bypass is the massive amount of wetlands southwest of town along Hoskins Creek (north of the hospital) and northwest of town along Mount Landing Creek.

I routed US-17 around the wetlands to the west, and my US-360 connector crossed the river a mile north of the existing bridge.

The highway thru the center of the town has 4 narrow lanes and is undivided, and the connector to the US-360 bridge can't be 4-laned without a lot of R/W impacts.

By the general practice with many other similar sized towns around the state, a 4-lane corridor should have a town bypass.   This town has two 4-lane corridors passing through (albeit US-360 is not fully complete) .  But granted that building 6 or 7 miles of new 4-lane highway and a new river bridge would be quite expensive.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #12 on: January 10, 2018, 11:19:12 AM »

Not sure if traffic counts are high enough yet to warrant a bypass of Tappahannock for US 17, but I could see the need for it in the future, especially when the new Nice Bridge on US 301 is completed, whenever that will be. I don't think there will ever be a need for a bypass (and new bridge) for US 360 traffic though.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #13 on: January 10, 2018, 01:23:24 PM »

Not sure if traffic counts are high enough yet to warrant a bypass of Tappahannock for US 17, but I could see the need for it in the future, especially when the new Nice Bridge on US 301 is completed, whenever that will be. I don't think there will ever be a need for a bypass (and new bridge) for US 360 traffic though.

US-360 and US-17 overlap thru the center of the town and has 4 narrow lanes and is undivided, probably 10 foot lanes.  If there was a way to build a modern road thru town, like with five 12-foot lanes or one-way pairs, it would be different, but I don't see how to do that without a lot of R/W impacts.  Likewise increasing the existing US-360 river bridge to 4 lanes doesn't really help when the Queen Street connector to the US-360 bridge can't be 4-laned without a lot of R/W impacts.

So that is why a bypass for both highways would probably be more feasible than trying to do the above.
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #14 on: January 10, 2018, 02:22:33 PM »

Not sure if traffic counts are high enough yet to warrant a bypass of Tappahannock for US 17, but I could see the need for it in the future, especially when the new Nice Bridge on US 301 is completed, whenever that will be. I don't think there will ever be a need for a bypass (and new bridge) for US 360 traffic though.

US-360 and US-17 overlap thru the center of the town and has 4 narrow lanes and is undivided, probably 10 foot lanes.  If there was a way to build a modern road thru town, like with five 12-foot lanes or one-way pairs, it would be different, but I don't see how to do that without a lot of R/W impacts.  Likewise increasing the existing US-360 river bridge to 4 lanes doesn't really help when the Queen Street connector to the US-360 bridge can't be 4-laned without a lot of R/W impacts.

So that is why a bypass for both highways would probably be more feasible than trying to do the above.

Yeah I get that. What I'm trying to say is does the traffic counts warrant any of those scenarios, whenever bypassing or through town, as far as US 360 goes. Every time I go that way there doesn't seem to be a lot of traffic between Tappahannock and Warsaw, even during the afternoon. I know for a fact that the US 17/360 overlap itself can get pretty crowded but much of it seems to be local traffic
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #15 on: January 11, 2018, 02:05:06 PM »

US-360 and US-17 overlap thru the center of the town and has 4 narrow lanes and is undivided, probably 10 foot lanes.  If there was a way to build a modern road thru town, like with five 12-foot lanes or one-way pairs, it would be different, but I don't see how to do that without a lot of R/W impacts.  Likewise increasing the existing US-360 river bridge to 4 lanes doesn't really help when the Queen Street connector to the US-360 bridge can't be 4-laned without a lot of R/W impacts.
So that is why a bypass for both highways would probably be more feasible than trying to do the above.
Yeah I get that. What I'm trying to say is does the traffic counts warrant any of those scenarios, whenever bypassing or through town, as far as US 360 goes. Every time I go that way there doesn't seem to be a lot of traffic between Tappahannock and Warsaw, even during the afternoon. I know for a fact that the US 17/360 overlap itself can get pretty crowded but much of it seems to be local traffic

From the VDOT Facebook page.  Plenty of traffic crosses the river bridge, and peaks would be a lot higher.  Nice photos of the new bridge under construction and of the old low-level drawbridge.

Virginia Department of Transportation
https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaDOT/photos/a.10150163630665974.296885.58132090973/10155028361435974/?type=3&theater

Though ferries served the area since at least 1656, it wasn’t until 1927 that a bridge connected the town of #Tappahannock to Richmond County across the Rappahannock River.  Seen on the left in the upper photo, the original Downing Bridge provided residents of the #NorthernNeck with a vital link to the rest of Virginia.  While popular with motorists, the structure was an inconvenience to boaters, who had to navigate the narrow passage of the draw bridge.  The taller, modern Downing Bridge - seen in the top photo shortly before it opened in 1963 -continues to be a popular crossing, carrying more than 14,000 vehicles per day over the #Rappahannock. #NNK #TBT #VDOT
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Beltway

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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #16 on: January 13, 2018, 07:45:43 PM »

In the Virginia Arterial Highway System established in 1964 (rolled into the NHS in 2003), US-360 was to be 4-laned all the way to Reedville, and the vast majority was.  Due to low traffic and other priorities I don't think any of the current 2-lane sections have been in the Six-Year Program for at least 15 years.
Even on the 4-laned US-360 section west of Heathsville, two of the villages have a brief 2-lane section, Callao which has a right-angle turn and should have a bypass, and Lottsburg.  And the Rappahannock River bridge is a modern-era high-level design built in 1965, but has two lanes.
Warsaw has 4 lanes on US-360 but they are narrow, probably 10 feet wide, and the road is undivided.  A modern 4-lane highway should have 12-foot lanes and as a divider at minimum a 10-foot continuous center turn lane.
Tappahannock could use a bypass that carries both US-17 and US-360, I have mapped out several alternatives.  Not sure if any has ever been officially proposed.

I rode out there a couple days ago, and have a few comments.

The 4-lane undivided segment of US-360 in Tappahannock has lanes wider than the 10 feet that I posted earlier, probably 11 feet or maybe 12 feet.  Nevertheless, left-turning vehicles have to stop in the left lane.  In places it would be hard to widen without some removal of buildings.

The 4-lane undivided segment of US-360 in Warsaw has lanes wider than the 10 feet that I posted earlier, probably 11 feet or maybe 12 feet.   In places it would be hard to widen without some removal of buildings.  About 7 miles of 4 lane widening and relocation was built on VA-3 about 15 years ago, and this provided a VA-3 bypass of Warsaw, and eliminated the overlap of US-360 and VA-3, so this provided a nice improvement for the Warsaw area.

Callao is as I reported above and should have a US-360 4-lane bypass, it would be south of the town and about 1.5 to 2.0 miles long.

Lottsburg has 2 wide lanes on US-360 and actually looks wide enough that if parking was eliminated it could have 4 lanes that are 11 or 12 feet wide.

The 4-lane section of US-360 drops to 2 lanes just west of Heathsville, and from there to Burgess probably has enough traffic to warrant 4 lanes, and if such a project is built, the developed center of Heathsville should be bypassed with about 1.0 to 1.5 mile of new 4-lane highway.

Reedville doesn't seem to have any business district.  I wonder where the residents of the area go to shop, I didn't see any grocery store in the area.

Nearby is the VA-200 bridge, spanning the Great Wicomico River.  I see that there is a new bridge about 1,700 feet long and with about 50 feet of vertical navigational clearance.  Wasn't this built about 5 years ago?  I can't seem to find any details online.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2018, 07:50:58 PM by Beltway »
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Re: Kentucky to Delaware via Reedville, VA
« Reply #17 on: January 13, 2018, 10:18:36 PM »

Nearby is the VA-200 bridge, spanning the Great Wicomico River.  I see that there is a new bridge about 1,700 feet long and with about 50 feet of vertical navigational clearance.  Wasn't this built about 5 years ago?  I can't seem to find any details online.

This is it from the VDOT bridge inventory --

Northumberland County
00200  [route]
JESSIE DUPONT HWY.
1004  [VA Struc No.]
0023705  [Fed Struc Id]
GREAT WICOMICO RIVER
Bridge
1994  [Year Built]

Photo of original swingspan bridge with new bridge under construction in background --
http://bridgehunter.com/photos/31/18/311881-M.jpg

29 photos here -- https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.va1603.photos/?sp=1
Would have been taken when the new bridge was under construction.
Photos of the underside show wooden piers, I wonder if this bridge could handle large trucks?

The new bridge is nice, looks like it has 12 foot lanes and 10 foot shoulders.

VA 200 (Glebe Point) Bridge
Lat / Lon: N 37° 50.812' / W 076° 22.060'
Bridge Type: Fixed
Vertical Clearance (Closed): 55.00'
Horizontal Clearance: 100.00'
https://www.waterwayguide.com/bridge/3-650/va-200-glebe-point-bridge
« Last Edit: January 13, 2018, 10:31:31 PM by Beltway »
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