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Virginia

Started by Alex, February 04, 2009, 12:22:16 AM

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D-Dey65

Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 26, 2022, 12:44:45 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 14, 2022, 10:01:09 PM
I think one's origin/destination matters as well as one being willing to spend more hours bypassing than they would just staying on I-95.

NC is a big place.  Starting off in the Outer Banks and heading out to I-81 is pretty severe.

But then you have several other options to avoid much of I-95, such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel (US-13) or the Coleman Bridge (US-17) to get to the Nice Bridge (US-301).
Hey, if I'm going to the Hampton Roads area to dodge I-95 in DC, and Baltimore, it's the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel or it's nothing.





ahj2000

Quote from: Mapmikey on June 27, 2022, 12:42:00 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 27, 2022, 12:29:40 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on June 27, 2022, 12:21:34 PM
....

Leonard Sandridge Rd in Charlottesville is shown as part of VA 302.

....

That seems like it would be correct. Isn't VA-302 the number assigned to all VDOT-maintained on-Grounds roads at UVA? Sandridge is located on the North Grounds (it was originally named the "North Grounds Connector Road").

Yes, but the trick is knowing which roads on an institution's property is VDOT maintained or not, as not every road would be.

Unrelated:  I-74 is NOT assigned to the I-77 segment south of I-81 per the arcgis.  it is possible nobody at VDOT remembers they did this in 1996.
74 would just go up the whole of 77 in VA, so I wonder what they need to sign the thing. Is it the completion of 74 between Mt Airy and Winston in NC?

plain

#6377
They probably won't sign anything until WV makes a move on their portion.

In other words, they're not going to sign anything.
Newark born, Richmond bred

LM117

“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

D-Dey65

Quote from: amroad17 on June 13, 2022, 12:27:04 AM
Quote from: Mapmikey on June 12, 2022, 09:57:35 AM
Quote from: D-Dey65 on June 12, 2022, 09:01:20 AM
Well, Northampton County and the State of North Carolina would have to accept the extension from north of the border, but I don't think they'd be so uncooperative about that. It would still have to happen, because there's no room to do it any other way.


The I-95 NB Virginia Welcome Center entrance ramp already starts 0.1 miles south of the state line.
Also, both of the off ramps to the Welcome Centers on I-77 at the VA/NC line begin in the others' state.
Well, yes. I knew that. But I thought most if not all of the on-ramp for the I-95 Virginia Welcome Center entrance ramp was still north of the state line.

amroad17

Yes, you are correct.  From the gore point into the rest area is in Virginia.  The deacceleration lane begins in North Carolina.
I don't need a GPS.  I AM the GPS! (for family and friends)

VTGoose

The Interstate 81 Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday, July 7, 2022, at 1 p.m. in the Shenandoah Room of the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, 110 Shenandoah Ave. NW, Roanoke, Va. 24016. Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting in person, or review meeting materials online and submit questions over the phone.

The agenda (when they get around to posting it) is here: https://improve81.org/advisory-committee-and-meetings/advisory-committee/default.asp
"Get in the fast lane, grandma!  The bingo game is ready to roll!"

VTGoose

Cardinal News (formed as the Roanoke Times sinks into oblivion) had an article on Wednesday about the Coalfields Expressway in Virginia. See "Off the beaten path" at https://cardinalnews.org/2022/07/06/off-the-beaten-path/

"Get in the fast lane, grandma!  The bingo game is ready to roll!"

bluecountry

Quote from: VTGoose on July 06, 2022, 03:51:02 PM
Cardinal News (formed as the Roanoke Times sinks into oblivion) had an article on Wednesday about the Coalfields Expressway in Virginia. See "Off the beaten path" at https://cardinalnews.org/2022/07/06/off-the-beaten-path/
Waste of money.

hbelkins

Quote from: bluecountry on July 11, 2022, 07:18:59 AM
Quote from: VTGoose on July 06, 2022, 03:51:02 PM
Cardinal News (formed as the Roanoke Times sinks into oblivion) had an article on Wednesday about the Coalfields Expressway in Virginia. See "Off the beaten path" at https://cardinalnews.org/2022/07/06/off-the-beaten-path/
Waste of money.

You'd rather spend that money on an area that already has good roads. This post is very on-brand.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

AlexandriaVA

#6385
I'll just say that of the three VA counties through which Coalfields is designated, all saw population declines of over 11% between 2010 and 2020.

Wise: 41,452--->36,130 (-12.8%)
Dickenson: 15,903--->14,124 (−11.2%)
Buchanan: 24,098--->20,355 (−15.5%)

And their combined populations is 70,609, across 1,243 square miles (57 people per sq. mile)

By contrast, Alexandria VA has a population of 159.467 across 15 square miles (10,600 ppsm)

It's just a hard sell - I don't care what your predisposition is regarding rural/urban red/blue, etc. The numbers speak for themselves.

plain

I would like to see more progress made on Corridor Q before any substantial work begins on the Coalfields. To me that's the more important of the two.
Newark born, Richmond bred

VTGoose

Quote from: AlexandriaVA on July 11, 2022, 01:12:10 PM
I'll just say that of the three VA counties through which Coalfields is designated, all saw population declines of over 11% between 2010 and 2020.

Wise: 41,452--->36,130 (-12.8%)
Dickenson: 15,903--->14,124 (−11.2%)
Buchanan: 24,098--->20,355 (−15.5%)

And their combined populations is 70,609, across 1,243 square miles (57 people per sq. mile)

By contrast, Alexandria VA has a population of 159.467 across 15 square miles (10,600 ppsm)

It's just a hard sell - I don't care what your predisposition is regarding rural/urban red/blue, etc. The numbers speak for themselves.

The numbers drop because there isn't much in the way of jobs to hold people there. The fan company in the article is an example -- he is providing employment in an area that needs it but may bail on the area because his shipping costs and lack of choices (truckers don't want to deal with some of the roads into the region). There have been attempts to bring more jobs to the area and lots of promises from politicians to "do something" but those are slow to come to fruition. The Coalfields Expressway (whether there is agreement on its need or not) has been on the books for years but not much dirt has been moved. Given the improvements in broadband and greater use of remote work, perhaps if it were easier to travel to and around the far end of the state, more people might move there to escape the mess that is Northern Virginia, trading green space and recreation for gridlock.

Bruce in Blacksburg (who has actually been to those counties -- who else can make that claim?)
"Get in the fast lane, grandma!  The bingo game is ready to roll!"

74/171FAN

QuoteBruce in Blacksburg (who has actually been to those counties -- who else can make that claim?)

I got Dickenson and Buchanan counties by going to the Pikeville, KY, Meet in 2013. (so anyone that went to that meet can make that claim)

I have not clinched Wise County or the city of Norton, but they are easy enough to clinch by driving just US 23 or US 58 ALT (which I hope to do eventually).
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

hbelkins

Quote from: VTGoose on July 12, 2022, 10:35:02 AM
Quote from: AlexandriaVA on July 11, 2022, 01:12:10 PM
I'll just say that of the three VA counties through which Coalfields is designated, all saw population declines of over 11% between 2010 and 2020.

Wise: 41,452--->36,130 (-12.8%)
Dickenson: 15,903--->14,124 (−11.2%)
Buchanan: 24,098--->20,355 (−15.5%)

And their combined populations is 70,609, across 1,243 square miles (57 people per sq. mile)

By contrast, Alexandria VA has a population of 159.467 across 15 square miles (10,600 ppsm)

It's just a hard sell - I don't care what your predisposition is regarding rural/urban red/blue, etc. The numbers speak for themselves.

The numbers drop because there isn't much in the way of jobs to hold people there. The fan company in the article is an example -- he is providing employment in an area that needs it but may bail on the area because his shipping costs and lack of choices (truckers don't want to deal with some of the roads into the region). There have been attempts to bring more jobs to the area and lots of promises from politicians to "do something" but those are slow to come to fruition. The Coalfields Expressway (whether there is agreement on its need or not) has been on the books for years but not much dirt has been moved. Given the improvements in broadband and greater use of remote work, perhaps if it were easier to travel to and around the far end of the state, more people might move there to escape the mess that is Northern Virginia, trading green space and recreation for gridlock.

Bruce in Blacksburg (who has actually been to those counties -- who else can make that claim?)

I've been in those counties more times than I can count -- it helps that they are only a couple of hours or so away from me. Been through the heart of Wise and Buchanan most often, however, because of the presence of US 23 and US 460 in those counties. Dickenson is a bit more isolated.

This is interesting, because just yesterday I had a conversation with my boss regarding a Kentucky legislator's push to four-lane US 460 from the end of the Mountain Parkway in Salyersville to US 23 in Paintsville. The existing US 460 was built in the late 1970s as a controlled-access highway with wide shoulders and passing lanes on the hills, and serves traffic just fine. This proposal grew out of a push by certain interests in Johnson County to divert the Mountain Parkway's relocation/widening from its current proposed alignment along or near KY 114 to Prestonsburg to a more northerly corridor serving Paintsville.

During our conversation, he mentioned the construction of US 460 in Pike County as a project he was not convinced of the need for. I reminded him that the ADHS corridors/APD system has been in the works for a half-century and these are the final pieces of that plan, and they will connect with an existing four-lane highway in Virginia.

Part of the purpose for these highways (ADHS, Coalfields Expressway, King Coal Highway) is economic development for a stressed/depressed region. Posters like AlexandriaVA and bluecountry want to abandon those highways and areas and spend the money on areas that have already had considerable development and investment in infrastructure.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

froggie

Quote from: hbelkins on July 12, 2022, 03:31:36 PM
Part of the purpose for these highways (ADHS, Coalfields Expressway, King Coal Highway) is economic development for a stressed/depressed region. Posters like AlexandriaVA and bluecountry want to abandon those highways and areas and spend the money on areas that have already had considerable development and investment in infrastructure.

In fairness, though, the areas in question still lag behind because population and employment growth has far outpaced the ability for the transportation infrastructure to keep up.  And given that NoVA is the primary economic engine for the entire state, it would behoove Virginia politicians to make sure the area doesn't become complete gridlock and damage its economic competitiveness.

A similar (albeit smaller in scale) argument could be made for the I-81 corridor...and this is where one of the posters you call out ignores the facts.

WillWeaverRVA

VA 392 will be decommissioned at the next CTB meeting next week. The facility it serves closed in 2018 and has been sold to private developers.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

74/171FAN

Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 13, 2022, 04:00:17 PM
VA 392 will be decommissioned at the next CTB meeting next week. The facility it serves closed in 2018 and has been sold to private developers.

Yeah, I clinched it back in May, and I am not sure that I was really even allowed to drive it, so this is absolutely not surprising to me.
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

froggie

#6393
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 13, 2022, 04:00:17 PM
VA 392 will be decommissioned at the next CTB meeting next week. The facility it serves closed in 2018 and has been sold to private developers.

Did anyone else look through that meeting agenda?  The last item is for a bid to convert I-64 between LaSalle Ave and Settlers Landing Rd from 3 GP lanes in each direction to 2 GP lanes and 2 toll lanes in each direction.  That's a pretty significant change.

sprjus4

The HRTPO has been planning that change for years now... something I don't fully agree with, but is not new.

They also propose to eventually convert the entire I-664 section on the Peninsula to 2 GP + 2 HO/T from the existing 3 GP each way once the HO/T lanes are constructed on the Monitor Merrimac.

IMO, both are changes that I feel will impact traffic more negatively than help. If they want a consistent 2 HO/T each way section, then widen the highway by 2 more lanes. I thought they were not permitted to convert free general purpose lanes to tolled anyways on the interstate system, only construct new capacity as tolled, toll bridges, or convert HOV lanes.

Mapmikey

Quote from: sprjus4 on July 14, 2022, 01:03:23 AM
The HRTPO has been planning that change for years now... something I don't fully agree with, but is not new.

They also propose to eventually convert the entire I-664 section on the Peninsula to 2 GP + 2 HO/T from the existing 3 GP each way once the HO/T lanes are constructed on the Monitor Merrimac.

IMO, both are changes that I feel will impact traffic more negatively than help. If they want a consistent 2 HO/T each way section, then widen the highway by 2 more lanes. I thought they were not permitted to convert free general purpose lanes to tolled anyways on the interstate system, only construct new capacity as tolled, toll bridges, or convert HOV lanes.

Here is the current law on this (from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title23/html/USCODE-2020-title23.htm) which seems to suggest federal money cannot be used for adding toll lanes if the number of GP lanes is not at least the same as before:

§129. Toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries
(a) Basic Program.–

(1) Authorization for federal participation.–Subject to the provisions of this section, Federal participation shall be permitted on the same basis and in the same manner as construction of toll-free highways is permitted under this chapter in the–

(A) initial construction of a toll highway, bridge, or tunnel or approach to the highway, bridge, or tunnel;

(B) initial construction of 1 or more lanes or other improvements that increase capacity of a highway, bridge, or tunnel (other than a highway on the Interstate System) and conversion of that highway, bridge, or tunnel to a tolled facility, if the number of toll-free lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, after the construction is not less than the number of toll-free lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, before the construction;

(C) initial construction of 1 or more lanes or other improvements that increase the capacity of a highway, bridge, or tunnel on the Interstate System and conversion of that highway, bridge, or tunnel to a tolled facility, if the number of toll-free non-HOV lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, after such construction is not less than the number of toll-free non-HOV lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, before such construction;

(D) reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, or replacement of a toll highway, bridge, or tunnel or approach to the highway, bridge, or tunnel;

(E) reconstruction or replacement of a toll-free bridge or tunnel and conversion of the bridge or tunnel to a toll facility;

(F) reconstruction of a toll-free Federal-aid highway (other than a highway on the Interstate System) and conversion of the highway to a toll facility;

(G) reconstruction, restoration, or rehabilitation of a highway on the Interstate System if the number of toll-free non-HOV lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, after reconstruction, restoration, or rehabilitation is not less than the number of toll-free non-HOV lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, before reconstruction, restoration, or rehabilitation;

(H) conversion of a high occupancy vehicle lane on a highway, bridge, or tunnel to a toll facility; and

(I) preliminary studies to determine the feasibility of a toll facility for which Federal participation is authorized under this paragraph.


WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: froggie on July 14, 2022, 12:35:43 AM
Did anyone else look through that meeting agenda?  The last item is for a bid to convert I-64 between LaSalle Ave and Settlers Landing Rd from 3 GP lanes in each direction to 2 GP lanes and 2 toll lanes in each direction.  That's a pretty significant change.

Quote from: sprjus4 on July 14, 2022, 01:03:23 AM
The HRTPO has been planning that change for years now... something I don't fully agree with, but is not new.

They also propose to eventually convert the entire I-664 section on the Peninsula to 2 GP + 2 HO/T from the existing 3 GP each way once the HO/T lanes are constructed on the Monitor Merrimac.

IMO, both are changes that I feel will impact traffic more negatively than help. If they want a consistent 2 HO/T each way section, then widen the highway by 2 more lanes. I thought they were not permitted to convert free general purpose lanes to tolled anyways on the interstate system, only construct new capacity as tolled, toll bridges, or convert HOV lanes.

I completely missed that. It's not a good idea.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

plain

I'm definitely not feeling that at all. Why not just 1 HOT lane and 3 GP?
Newark born, Richmond bred

sprjus4

New High Rise Bridge Anticipated to Open for Westbound Motorists as Early as Saturday Morning, July 16
QuoteThe Hampton Roads region's new High Rise Bridge will open to traffic on Saturday morning, July 16, marking a significant milestone in the I-64 Southside Widening and High Rise Bridge Expansion Project.

The newly constructed, 1.2 mile, fixed-span bridge with a 100-foot clearance over the Elizabeth River will initially carry two lanes of I-64 west traffic toward Virginia Beach. Interstate 64 east traffic (toward Suffolk) will remain on the existing High Rise Bridge.

"Opening the new High Rise Bridge to traffic brings benefits for local, regional and interstate travelers alike,"  said Christopher Hall, P.E., VDOT Hampton Roads district engineer. "We are improving mobility and safety and adding capacity to a key evacuation route and highly traveled corridor."

Contractor crews with Granite-Parsons-Corman, the joint-venture for the I-64 Southside Widening and High Rise Bridge Expansion Project, will facilitate this project milestone utilizing a traffic shift overnight starting as early as Friday, July 15. Single-lane closures will be in place on I-64 west from Shell Road to the existing High Rise Bridge, beginning as early as 8 p.m. to install barrier walls separating east- and westbound traffic from Shell Road to the new bridge approach. This traffic shift includes weather-dependent work, including paving and pavement marker installation, that cannot be completed in wet or damp conditions. Should these conditions be present on or in advance of Friday night's shift, the bridge opening will be postponed and a new opening date will be announced after re-evaluating the project schedule.

Once the bridge is in use, motorists can expect continued construction activities on the shoulders, including nighttime, single-lane closures, to complete additional bridge work and reconfiguration of the existing High Rise Bridge.

With a taller vertical clearance than the existing High Rise Bridge, the new, fixed-span bridge eliminates the need for bridge lifts for westbound traffic. Following the initial opening of the new High Rise Bridge, the remaining construction will include widening the corridor to three lanes by adding an Express Lane in each direction from 0.6 mile east of the I-264 interchange at Bowers Hill to 0.9 mile east of the I-464 interchange.

Additional project improvements include:
* Replacement and realignment of the Great Bridge Boulevard Bridge over I-64;
* Widening of six existing I-64 bridges over Military Highway, Yadkin Road and Shell Road;
* Installation of nearly 8 miles of sound wall;
* Reconfiguration of the existing High Rise Bridge to carry one-directional traffic (eastbound towards Suffolk); and
* Completion of an asphalt overlay for existing interstate lanes.

Currently, crews have completed the replacement of the Great Bridge Boulevard Bridge, which opened to traffic in November 2021, and will continue to work on bridge widenings over Military Highway, Yadkin Road and Shell Road.

Most major elements of the project will be open to traffic by early 2023. This project is also designed to accommodate a future project that will replace the existing High Rise Bridge and expand the corridor to a total of eight lanes. Funding and timing for this project have not yet been identified.

VDOT reminds motorists to slow down in the work zone and be alert to changing traffic patterns and crews working alongside the roadway.

sprjus4

The new High Rise Bridge is officially open to traffic.

https://twitter.com/vadothr/status/1548192575600730119



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