Virginia

[NJRoadfan]

....and where is all that traffic going to go once it reaches the Potomac? Unless they are planning on eventually widening the American Legion Bridge, that will be just a tad of a bottleneck.

[froggie]

(also posted on MTR)

The Opal interchange (where US 17 splits off from US 15/29 south of Warrenton) was advertised for bids last week on Wednesday.  Bids will close on 8/25.  I got a PDF with the project layout in an E-mail from VDOT.  Of note:  this project only addresses southbound travel, with a loop ramp for the SB US 17 "through movement", and a ramp from NB 15/29 to SB 17.  Northbound 17 travel, plus travel to the local businesses on the east side of 15/29, will continue to use the existing intersection.

The "interchange" will be centered about halfway between US 17/SR 687 and SR 844, with the roadway rejoining existing US 17 about halfway between SR 844 and SR 663.  Frontage roads will be built on both sides of 15/29 between the new interchange and SR 844.  It appears that SR 844 will dead-end and be cul-de-sac'd on either side of the new roadway.  It also appears that a southbound auxiliary lane will be built between the existing intersection and the new interchange.

[Stephane Dumas]

According to TOLLROADSnews the I-495/Capital Beltway HOT lanes could eventually be extended to the Potomac.  http://tollroadsnews.com/node/4743  Honestly I'm not sure how long it would take before money is financed for this.

I guess they could extend it even further north if they reach an agreement with MD DOT to link the HOT lanes with a proposed ETL (Express toll lanes) with I-270 http://www.i270multimodalstudy.com/highway-improvements/alternatives

Btw, there some pics of the demoliton of the southbound VA-123 bridge http://www.virginiahotlanes.com/beltway/gallery/view.php?id=11

I wonder does the HOT lanes will have a BGS or a BPS (Big purple sign) like the Westpark tollway in Houston have?

[froggie]

I guess they could extend it even further north if they reach an agreement with MD DOT to link the HOT lanes with a proposed ETL (Express toll lanes) with I-270

They'd have to get across the American Legion Bridge first, which won't be possible given the existing configuration.

I wonder does the HOT lanes will have a BGS or a BPS (Big purple sign) like the Westpark tollway in Houston have?

Neither, since they won't be completed for another 3 years.

[froggie]

A neat little YouTube video showing VDOT's demolition and removal last month of the old Outer Loop (I-495/DC Beltway) bridge over VA 123....part of the I-495 HOT lane project.

[froggie]

While heading home from today's excursion (which got me as far as Warm Springs), I noticed two things.

First, a few of VDOT's older style guide signs, where the route shields are black-bordered and use Series D numerals on the secondary route shields (instead of the present-day Series C) still exist along northbound I-81 between Port Jackson and Strasburg, including this example of Alex's.

Second, Warren County seems to have a fetish for I-66 reassurance shields using Series C numerals instead of Series D...at least eastbound.

[agentsteel53]

Second, Warren County seems to have a fetish for I-66 reassurance shields using Series C numerals instead of Series D...at least eastbound.

any of them with the state name, or all neutered with the huge numbers?

[froggie]

Every mainline shield I've seen or recall seeing west of the Beltway is neutered.  Gotta go to the side roads to find state name trailblazers.  There might be a few lingering inside the Beltway, but I'm not 100% on that.

[agentsteel53]

Every mainline shield I've seen or recall seeing west of the Beltway is neutered.  Gotta go to the side roads to find state name trailblazers.  There might be a few lingering inside the Beltway, but I'm not 100% on that.

not on the mainline as far as I remember - but yes, plenty on the side streets.  '57 spec, too, for the most part, as VA's use of the '70 spec appears to have been brief before they went to neutered, and the side-street trailblazers were planted, and forgotten, before that transitional period.

there are occasional new state-named shields that pop up in VA (some for I-95 just north of Richmond come to mind) and those are '70 spec.

[hbelkins]

There were a handful of state-named shields westbound inside the beltway last fall when I drove it.





And at least one well outside the beltway...

[froggie]

VDOT's adding another FYA, this time near Roanoke.

[njroadhorse]

VDOT's adding another FYA, this time near Roanoke.

Sweet! I can actually go check this one out!

[74/171FAN]

VDOT has awarded the contract for a new interchange on I-295 in Enon at SR 618/Meadowville Rd.  Personally I don't believe the interchange is needed right now as I believe the VA 10 interchange currently handles the traffic pretty well but the business park they are building off Meadowville Rd made this happen. 

[WillWeaverRVA]

VDOT has awarded the contract for a new interchange on I-295 in Enon at SR 618/Meadowville Rd.  Personally I don't believe the interchange is needed right now as I believe the VA 10 interchange currently handles the traffic pretty well but the business park they are building off Meadowville Rd made this happen. 

It's not needed at all; it's too close to the existing VA 10 interchange, IMO.

[froggie]

Both the Post's Dr. Gridlock and WTOP are reporting that VDOT is set to advertise about $1.1 billion in road projects for the first half of Fiscal Year 2011.  This is the first large-scale use of the over-$1B supposedly found in the recent VDOT audit.

WTOP goes into a little more detail, noting that the vast bulk of the money will be on repaving and not on new construction or expanded capacity.

One of the projects in this area...repaving I-66 between the Beltway and US 50/Fair Oaks...has been needed for years.

The Governor's office also has a press release on the topic.

[VaF]

I saw a powerpoint from VDOT saying they are going to use asphalt overlay instead of concrete. Which is unfortunate b/c concrete lasts twice as long. But I guess it's because it's cheaper and easier to maintain. Either way... it will be nice to finally drive on smooth road on that stretch of I-66.

I do take issue with the Governor's plan to borrow heavily in order to pay for construction projects. I think the better way to do it is a modest increase in the state gas tax and continuing to ensure VDOT properly untilizes all or most of the funds it has available to it. I don't see how running up the state's credit card is a better way to fund projects. Because it will probably lead to higher taxes down the road anyway when the bill comes due.

[froggie]

Doesn't surprise me.  Could you imagine the traffic nightmare if VDOT tried replacing the concrete through there?  Especially at Nutley St.

The first part of the bonding makes some sense, but the GARVEE bonds don't.

[CanesFan27]

This past weekend I came across this recently installed Historic Route 1 and US 1 shield in Brunswick County, VA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15530177@N05/5483031214/in/photostream/

(Sorry, I've yet to figure out how to post flickr images onto here)

[mightyace]

^^^

Those signs puzzle me.  If it is still US 1, why is there a Historic Route 1 sign.  And, if it is just "historic," shouldn't it have the brown historic US route sign?

[froggie]

We have small circular "Historic Route 1" signs that serve a similar purpose up here in Fairfax County.

[CanesFan27]

Mightyace,

You are looking at it more on a roadgeek level.  My guess they are trying to promote US 1 for highway tourism - similar to old 66, Lincoln Highway's revival, etc.    Historic Route 1 is most likely the name of the drive kinda like the scenic byways they have in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and other states.

[Mapmikey]

These must be fairly new...I haven't seen any yet in the Fredericksburg to Richmond section.

There is the possibility this applies to the original VA 1 which existed 1918-1923.  Because it is not 4-laned here, the picture is almost certainly north of SR 712.
VA 1 used US 1's corridor from SR 712 to Richmond and also some sections from Fredericksburg to D.C.

Mapmikey
co-curator Virginia Hwys Page
www.vahighways.com

[njroadhorse]

Idk if it's been mentioned, but if you want a lot of nice cutouts, head down US 11 in Christiansburg.  I found a decent amount of nice ones there a few weekends ago.  A couple US 11 shields, at least one VA 8, a couple I-81s and maybe a US 460 too.

[Mapmikey]

I was hoping VA 1 was the inspiration, but it is not:

http://chrispeace.com/2010/03/08/bill-to-designate-us-1-as-historic-route-1-passes/

Mapmikey

[1995hoo]

I saw a powerpoint from VDOT saying they are going to use asphalt overlay instead of concrete. Which is unfortunate b/c concrete lasts twice as long. But I guess it's because it's cheaper and easier to maintain. Either way... it will be nice to finally drive on smooth road on that stretch of I-66.

....

The issue that concerns me about the switch from concrete to asphalt is the use of the shoulder as a traffic lane at certain times of day on that road. When they first started doing that back in the 1990s, VDOT made a big deal about how the "shoulder lane" would be a different color from the other lanes and would also have the red "X"/green arrow signals. The different color was considered important in light of prior negative experience on I-95 between the Beltway and Woodbridge, where the shoulder had been used as a lane but was denoted simply by a solid line (instead of dashed) and a bunch of signs. An older man suffered a breakdown during the hours when the shoulder was not to be used as a lane, so he stopped on the shoulder and promptly got pancaked by a tractor-trailer using that "lane" illegally. When the shoulder lane thing began on I-66, there was much fuss made about how the different-colored surface would help call drivers' attention to the special status of that lane. (While lots of people use it illegally, especially between the Beltway and Nutley or vice-versa, the violation rate does seem a lot lower than it was on I-95.)

But either way, the most important thing is that they finally repave that road, however they do it.