US 29 in Lynchburg

[briantroutman]

I was looking at a satellite image of Lynchburg and noticed the rather odd-looking trumpet between US 29 and 460 east of town. It appears that the ramps in the northern two quadrants were aligned so that loop ramps could be added inside–and the interchange transformed into a full four-way cloverleaf.

So I did some checking, and it appears there have been proposals at times to extend the 29 freeway to the south end of town. But is a separate, new freeway alignment really needed? It looks like 460 is mostly a freeway west of that point, except for a 1.5 mile stretch with a couple of at-grades right after the trumpet.

If the at-grades present a real traffic problem, would it not be possible to add an interchange and some frontage roads at a much lower cost then building an entirely new freeway on a different alignment? And considering that there's also an expressway going directly through town, it would seem that motorists have ample options for going to and through a city the size of Lynchburg.

And if it's the surface section of 29 south of 460 that is causing traffic problems, wouldn't it make sense for 29 to remain signed on the 460 freeway and break off onto a new alignment south of the airport?

[1995hoo]

There is indeed a proposal to extend the new bypass further south to return to the existing US-29 somewhere in the general vicinity of VA-24. The alignment running through town (the Lynchburg Expressway) used to be the US-29 bypass until the new one was finished sometime within the past ten years. It's a very old road and is more reminiscent of Pennsylvania's outdated Interstates, but the real problem with that route was that it dumped you into Madison Heights north of Lynchburg. There is a string of interminable traffic lights there and it always took forever to get through them.

I don't drive through that area nearly as often as I used to. Between 1995 and 1998 I went that way frequently when I was attending law school at Duke and I wanted to head up to Charlottesville to visit college friends or to attend football games. Even then I didn't use US-29 south of Lynchburg very often because I found it faster to take US-501 north from Durham through South Boston, Brookneal, and Rustburg. (Eventually I stopped going that way altogether because of Madison Heights; I started turning onto US-360 at South Boston and then taking US-15 from Keysville through Farmville to Dillwyn and then VA-20 to Charlottesville.) My most recent trip through the area was the Friday before Christmas this past December; we were on our way to Florida and I was bored with I-95, so I took US-29 to Greensboro for a change of pace. We went through there sometime after dark and it moved pretty well. The traffic lights were annoying, but not unbearably so, although the Friday before Christmas might not be the best way to gauge that.

I do recall there being several shopping malls and a lot of other retail development along US-29 Business through the area just north of the airport. I suspect those generate a lot of traffic. I remember absolutely crawling through there in a driving rain back in October 1995 en route from Durham to Charlottesville the one time I took US-29 the whole way (I went that way to clinch US-29 in Virginia, although I would not have used the term "clinch" back then.....the trip took forever, Danville was very slow because the bypass didn't exist and Lynchburg was worse). US-460 cuts through the Liberty University campus and I don't doubt that probably poses some issues were they to want to widen the road. If indeed it is really true that sometime in the future there may be a long-term plan to upgrade US-29 to an Interstate-grade route (something I highly doubt will happen in my lifetime), they would need a new alignment elsewhere. It simply wouldn't fit right there. The cloverleaf interchange of US-29/US-29 Business/US-460 is not one that could easily be rebuilt into a higher-speed design, either, unless they condemn property (which they'd rather avoid).

I think the biggest issue, though, with the portion of US-29 south of US-460 is that there's a lot of development shoved right up against the road, meaning the eminent domain costs would be prohibitive if they wanted to make serious improvements (not to mention the massive disruption to traffic during the construction....I remember what a mess US-29 in the Charlottesville area was in the early 1990s when they widened it from two lanes per side to its current configuration and how the traffic was a nightmare). So suppose you want to build a new alignment south of the airport. There are really two issues then–minimize impact on existing residential and commercial development and deal with the terrain. Lynchburg is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and there's a small mountain just across US-29/460 from the airport to the east of that full cloverleaf. So you'd have to avoid that because blasting through a mountain West Virginia—style isn't going to happen in a well-populated area like Lynchburg. So you either have to go to the west of the airport (putting US-29 into sort of a reverse "S" shape through the Lynchburg area) or you have to go around to the east of that mountain, which puts you into the existing US-501 corridor. Once you do that, why not just extend the existing US-29 bypass further south instead of having traffic go through multiple TOTSO situations?

[Mapmikey]

Both the US 29 Byp extension south to the VA 24 area and a separate road called US 29 ALT that appears to run from the VA 24 area to US 460, presumably to the west of existing US 29 are in the 2035 strategic plan dated Nov 2010.  See pg. 139 of http://www.vtrans.org/resources/VSTP_Entire_Report.pdf

Mapmikey

[hbelkins]

What was the reason for building a new four-lane expressway for US 29 in Lynchburg to replace an existing four-lane expressway?

[NE2]

Because the new one's not in Lynchburg.

[1995hoo]

What was the reason for building a new four-lane expressway for US 29 in Lynchburg to replace an existing four-lane expressway?

You're talking about the new bypass with the 70-mph speed limit? It was to bypass both Lynchburg and Madison Heights. The four-lane expressway you mention (the Lynchburg Expressway) worked well enough for bypassing Lynchburg itself, even if its design is a bit outdated, but its northern end dumped you onto a very congested and slow segment of Route 29 through Madison Heights that had a bunch of interminably long traffic lights. The congestion was bad and getting worse. Hence the new bypass, which is generally referred to as the "Lynchburg—Madison Heights bypass."

[froggie]

Hence the new bypass, which is generally referred to as the "Lynchburg—Madison Heights bypass."

As I recall, in planning and during construction it was referenced as the "Madison Heights bypass".

[Strider]

I also recall that the southern end of the Lynchburg-Madison Heights bypass (US 29 and US 460 interchange), there is plans to extend the bypass south to meet US 29 somewhere south of town... i haven't heard anything about that, but is there any updates on it?

[1995hoo]

I also recall that the southern end of the Lynchburg-Madison Heights bypass (US 29 and US 460 interchange), there is plans to extend the bypass south to meet US 29 somewhere south of town... i haven't heard anything about that, but is there any updates on it?

I believe there's a long-term proposal to extend it southwest to rejoin the existing Route 29 somewhere in the general vicinity of its intersection with Route 24. I certainly don't think that'll happen in the current decade, at a minimum.

Hence the new bypass, which is generally referred to as the "Lynchburg—Madison Heights bypass."

As I recall, in planning and during construction it was referenced as the "Madison Heights bypass".

It may have been, but since it opened, the general public in that area has tended to use the longer name I cited, which is logical given that it bypasses both places.

[mrsman]

I would strongly recommend that US 29 business be renumbered to a state highway.  From the southern interchange of US 29 and US 29 business, US 29 traffic has to exit itself to stay on the bypass.  Traffic should be encouraged to use the bypass and one way of doing that is by redesigning the numbers so that it is clearer that by staying in the left lanes, the driver is no longer on US 29.  At highway speeds, I don't believe that the "Business" is enough, especially when both through lanes lead directly to Business 29.

[MBHockey13]

I would strongly recommend that US 29 business be renumbered to a state highway.  From the southern interchange of US 29 and US 29 business, US 29 traffic has to exit itself to stay on the bypass.  Traffic should be encouraged to use the bypass and one way of doing that is by redesigning the numbers so that it is clearer that by staying in the left lanes, the driver is no longer on US 29.  At highway speeds, I don't believe that the "Business" is enough, especially when both through lanes lead directly to Business 29.

I've driven through multiple times and never had a problem.

[Laura]

What was the reason for building a new four-lane expressway for US 29 in Lynchburg to replace an existing four-lane expressway?

You're talking about the new bypass with the 70-mph speed limit? It was to bypass both Lynchburg and Madison Heights. The four-lane expressway you mention (the Lynchburg Expressway) worked well enough for bypassing Lynchburg itself, even if its design is a bit outdated, but its northern end dumped you onto a very congested and slow segment of Route 29 through Madison Heights that had a bunch of interminably long traffic lights. The congestion was bad and getting worse. Hence the new bypass, which is generally referred to as the "Lynchburg—Madison Heights bypass."

Heh. When I lived there (2005-2009), everyone called it just "the bypass" or "New 29". Otherwise, you pretty much nailed it. The original Lynchburg Expressway is called that along with "the expressway", "old 29" and "29 business". The old old 29 business was usually referenced by its various named sections - 5th Street, Memorial Ave, Fort Ave, Wards Road.

It was meant as a bypass of both Madison Heights and Lynchburg; otherwise, they would have just ended it at (what is now) VA 210. Madison Heights is pretty awful: traffic lights, tons of shopping centers, low speed limits, congestion. They needed to bypass Lynchburg though because of all of the development on Wards Road and on the Liberty University campus.

I also recall that the southern end of the Lynchburg-Madison Heights bypass (US 29 and US 460 interchange), there is plans to extend the bypass south to meet US 29 somewhere south of town... i haven't heard anything about that, but is there any updates on it?

I believe there's a long-term proposal to extend it southwest to rejoin the existing Route 29 somewhere in the general vicinity of its intersection with Route 24. I certainly don't think that'll happen in the current decade, at a minimum.

Yes. The super long term plan is to extend it just south of VA 24. To be honest, I doubt it will ever happen. It's not really in the best interest for Lynchburg, especially since the New 29 is a few miles east of the city. At least with the 29/460/501 concurrency, the bypass passes within city limits for a few miles.

Also, within the past couple of years, they've completed some improvements on the 29/460/501 stretch (closing medians, adding jughandles, etc.) to create a happy medium between the high speed/volume of traffic and the businesses and residences on that stretch of highway.

I would strongly recommend that US 29 business be renumbered to a state highway.  From the southern interchange of US 29 and US 29 business, US 29 traffic has to exit itself to stay on the bypass.  Traffic should be encouraged to use the bypass and one way of doing that is by redesigning the numbers so that it is clearer that by staying in the left lanes, the driver is no longer on US 29.  At highway speeds, I don't believe that the "Business" is enough, especially when both through lanes lead directly to Business 29.

I've driven through multiple times and never had a problem.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious once you start to see Liberty University and all of the chain stores which one is the business and which one is the bypass.

[froggie]

Also, within the past couple of years, they've completed some improvements on the 29/460/501 stretch (closing medians, adding jughandles, etc.) to create a happy medium between the high speed/volume of traffic and the businesses and residences on that stretch of highway.

VDOT's long-term goal is to convert the rest of the 29/460 concurrency into a freeway.  They didn't have the funding at the time, so as an interim step the implemented the improvements you mentioned.  The problem is that most of the properties between 501 and the 29 bypass (including everything west of Tyreeanna Rd) are isolated and can only be accessed from 460.  The CSX rail line is a further complicating factor in providing alternative access.

[Mapmikey]

Construction of US 29 south of US 460 to south of VA 24 is on the 20+ year projection track, according to this map put out at 2009 public meetings by VDOT as part of the 29 corridor study...note they want to also build a road from the US 29/VA 24 area northwest to US 460 in the vicinity of the airport.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/resources/Culpeper/Route_29/0909_rt29_South_Lynchburg_.pdf

Mapmikey

[cpzilliacus]

Also, within the past couple of years, they've completed some improvements on the 29/460/501 stretch (closing medians, adding jughandles, etc.) to create a happy medium between the high speed/volume of traffic and the businesses and residences on that stretch of highway.

VDOT's long-term goal is to convert the rest of the 29/460 concurrency into a freeway.  They didn't have the funding at the time, so as an interim step the implemented the improvements you mentioned.  The problem is that most of the properties between 501 and the 29 bypass (including everything west of Tyreeanna Rd) are isolated and can only be accessed from 460.  The CSX rail line is a further complicating factor in providing alternative access.

It has been a lot of years since I was through there, but I do know that there have been more than a few highway bypasses in Virginia that have become de-facto retail corridors because of inadequate access control. So to the extent that a freeway comes with full access control, it seems like a good idea. 

There's the example of the old Warrenton Bypass, which does not work so well as a bypass any longer (though they mostly got it right with the U.S. 15/17/29 bypass on the east side of town). 

In Winchester, Va. 37 is supposed to be a bypass of the city on its west side, and most of it has full access control.  But for reasons I have never been able to figure out, there's a breezewood at the north end of Va. 37, where it joins U.S. 11 for a short distance before the I-81 interchange.

[1995hoo]

I went through there this past November 23 on the way to Florida for Thanksgiving (another iteration of "bored with I-95"). The 29/460 concurrency wasn't really an issue in terms of slowing anything down, though I should note traffic was surely lighter because it was mid-morning on a Saturday and the Liberty basketball team was on the road (in Charlottesville, actually). The part that was slow was the segment after 29 leaves 460 and heads south past the airport. Fair amount of traffic and too many red lights, although I think it feels like there are more lights than there actually are.

froggie is right about those properties west of Tyreeanna Road lacking other access to the road system. In addition to the rail line, there's an airstrip on the south side of the highway between the rail line and the 501 interchange that would complicate the construction of another way out (and indeed the airstrip itself is accessed via an at-grade driveway). Virginia doesn't typically do Texas-style frontage roads, and space might be an issue since some properties are right up against the highway, but this seems like a place where a frontage road might be the solution.

[Mapmikey]

Also, within the past couple of years, they've completed some improvements on the 29/460/501 stretch (closing medians, adding jughandles, etc.) to create a happy medium between the high speed/volume of traffic and the businesses and residences on that stretch of highway.

VDOT's long-term goal is to convert the rest of the 29/460 concurrency into a freeway.  They didn't have the funding at the time, so as an interim step the implemented the improvements you mentioned.  The problem is that most of the properties between 501 and the 29 bypass (including everything west of Tyreeanna Rd) are isolated and can only be accessed from 460.  The CSX rail line is a further complicating factor in providing alternative access.

It has been a lot of years since I was through there, but I do know that there have been more than a few highway bypasses in Virginia that have become de-facto retail corridors because of inadequate access control. So to the extent that a freeway comes with full access control, it seems like a good idea. 

There's the example of the old Warrenton Bypass, which does not work so well as a bypass any longer (though they mostly got it right with the U.S. 15/17/29 bypass on the east side of town). 

In Winchester, Va. 37 is supposed to be a bypass of the city on its west side, and most of it has full access control.  But for reasons I have never been able to figure out, there's a breezewood at the north end of Va. 37, where it joins U.S. 11 for a short distance before the I-81 interchange.

VA 37 was moved further west at the request of local leaders - see page 10 at:
http://www.virginiadot.org/meetings/minutes_pdf/CTB-03-1965-01.pdf

Contracts were already let in 1962 for I-81 in the Winchester area, so my guess is that by the time VA 37's route was finalized in 1965 it would've been difficult to incorporate an I-81/US 11/VA 37 interchange (also a railroad nearby).

I couldn't find in the CTB minutes the rationale for the Winchester Bypass but I'd be surprised if it was for alleviating traffic on a brand new I-81 (otherwise the number would've probably been VA 281).  Additionally, the south VA 37 ending is also at grade interchange with I-81.  I would argue there is no "breezewood" situation at the north end because its purpose was likely for US 11-related reasons and VA 37 ends at a partial interchange there.  Or at least not so much for I-81 SB traffic (an argument could be made that I-81 NB traffic trying to reach US 50 or US 522 benefits from VA 37 from the south interchange.

While the US 29-460 stretch by the Falwell Airport doesn't technically qualify as a bypass in the way described above, the larger point about Virginia bypasses is true in lots of cases, especially with the older ones - Warrenton and Williamsburg (1930s); Danville and Fredericksburg (1940s)

Mapmikey

[cpzilliacus]

VA 37 was moved further west at the request of local leaders - see page 10 at:
http://www.virginiadot.org/meetings/minutes_pdf/CTB-03-1965-01.pdf

Contracts were already let in 1962 for I-81 in the Winchester area, so my guess is that by the time VA 37's route was finalized in 1965 it would've been difficult to incorporate an I-81/US 11/VA 37 interchange (also a railroad nearby).

Thank you for answering this.  The north end of Va. 37 has always impressed me as very odd.

I couldn't find in the CTB minutes the rationale for the Winchester Bypass but I'd be surprised if it was for alleviating traffic on a brand new I-81 (otherwise the number would've probably been VA 281).  Additionally, the south VA 37 ending is also at grade interchange with I-81.  I would argue there is no "breezewood" situation at the north end because its purpose was likely for US 11-related reasons and VA 37 ends at a partial interchange there.  Or at least not so much for I-81 SB traffic (an argument could be made that I-81 NB traffic trying to reach US 50 or US 522 benefits from VA 37 from the south interchange.

Sorry - it's not as blatant as the original breezewood, and you have supplied good historical reasons for why things are that way. Even without the 281 designation, it seems strange that a limited-access state highway does not connect directly to I-81.

While the US 29-460 stretch by the Falwell Airport doesn't technically qualify as a bypass in the way described above, the larger point about Virginia bypasses is true in lots of cases, especially with the older ones - Warrenton and Williamsburg (1930s); Danville and Fredericksburg (1940s)

Even the Leesburg Bypass, the oldest section of which is from about 1969 or 1970, has retail activity along the Bypass that is connected by signalized intersections, and not grade-separated interchanges. 

Another failed bypass highway can be found in Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland - Md. 140 (ex-U.S. 140) should have had full access control, and the lack of same has resulted in failing intersections.

[Thing 342]

Also, within the past couple of years, they've completed some improvements on the 29/460/501 stretch (closing medians, adding jughandles, etc.) to create a happy medium between the high speed/volume of traffic and the businesses and residences on that stretch of highway.

VDOT's long-term goal is to convert the rest of the 29/460 concurrency into a freeway.  They didn't have the funding at the time, so as an interim step the implemented the improvements you mentioned.  The problem is that most of the properties between 501 and the 29 bypass (including everything west of Tyreeanna Rd) are isolated and can only be accessed from 460.  The CSX rail line is a further complicating factor in providing alternative access.

It has been a lot of years since I was through there, but I do know that there have been more than a few highway bypasses in Virginia that have become de-facto retail corridors because of inadequate access control. So to the extent that a freeway comes with full access control, it seems like a good idea. 

There's the example of the old Warrenton Bypass, which does not work so well as a bypass any longer (though they mostly got it right with the U.S. 15/17/29 bypass on the east side of town). 

In Winchester, Va. 37 is supposed to be a bypass of the city on its west side, and most of it has full access control.  But for reasons I have never been able to figure out, there's a breezewood at the north end of Va. 37, where it joins U.S. 11 for a short distance before the I-81 interchange.

[cough]US-15 Leesburg[/cough]

[froggie]

CP already mentioned US 15 Leesburg.  Which, IMO, doesn't quite apply.  All of the Leesburg bypass has at least partial access control.  That retail that CP mentioned doesn't have direct access to US 15....it has to use the intersections at Fort Evans Rd and Edwards Ferry Rd to access US 15.

I'd also like to point out that the Leesburg Bypass served very well for a number of decades (the US 15 part opened in 1965).  It's only really because of Northern Virginia development reaching central Loudoun County that the bypass has begun to fail in recent years.

[jpi]

Not to change the state but another good example of a by-pass becoming commercialized is US 30 in my home town of York, PA 3 miles of lights and one of the biggest commercial strips in south central PA.

[Perfxion]

I read long ago, they wanted to extend I-785 to Danville, then to Altavista, wouldn't have to go all the way to at least Lynchburg to justify a 3di on 29? Maybe their long term plan is to turn US29 into an interstate? Hopefully all the way to UVA.

[froggie]

I read long ago, they wanted to extend I-785 to Danville, then to Altavista,

Danville, yes.  Altavista, no.  I-785 as proposed would end at the US 58/US 360 interchange.

Maybe their long term plan is to turn US29 into an interstate? Hopefully all the way to UVA.

It isn't.  Long-term plan (studies completed in the early 2000s) has the freeway shifting to a parkway just north of Amherst.

[cpzilliacus]

It isn't.  Long-term plan (studies completed in the early 2000s) has the freeway shifting to a parkway just north of Amherst.

Parkway? 

You mean as an expressway (styled like Corridor H in West Virginia or U.S. 29 in Maryland north of Md. 650)?

I really wish that FHWA and the state DOTs would have rural and urban expressway as a formal functional classification, along with rural non-Interstate freeway.

[froggie]

Parkway? 

You mean as an expressway (styled like Corridor H in West Virginia or U.S. 29 in Maryland north of Md. 650)?

No, I did mean Parkway.  Limited-access like an at-grade expressway, but with a narrower cross-section...including narrower (and partially unpaved) shoulders.