Virginia

[plain]

Somehow I totally skipped over the northbound part when reading plus given it's on the weekend, you're right it shouldn't be bad. Still when I think about just the normal rush hour (and the occasional accidents that makes it even worse) I can't help but wonder if the state would've built a road or two radiating away from DC or the Beltway (doesn't even have to be freeway) between I-95 and I-66 would it be as bad as it is now? I'm not talking about long distance or anything but to at least maybe Prince William Parkway? Looking at it Virginia really doesn't have very many "spokes" outside the Beltway towards the south and the south-southwest to provide options. Can't widen 95 but so much. Maryland's side, though still bad, doesn't seem to be as bad as Virginia's

[Jmiles32]

WTOP Exclusive: Major backups expected due to urgent I-95 bridge fixes

Three areas of a crumbling bridge over Neabsco Creek, just south of Potomac Mills Mall in Virginia, need extensive repairs that will require southbound traffic to funnel through two lanes on the four-lane bridge from 9 p.m. Saturday, April 29, through 6 a.m. Monday, May 1, and again from 10 p.m. Friday, May 5, through 6 a.m. Monday, May 8.

This will be ugly.   U.S. 1 (Jefferson  Davis Highway) cannot handle that kind of bail-out traffic, and will quickly suffer a traffic melt-down.

Armageddon here we come. I hope as a result of this disaster VDOT/NVTA will put much more urgency in widening US-1 from 4 to 6 lanes to at least Stafford county.

Also since widening the regular I-95 free lanes is a no go, VDOT/Transburban should consider widening the HOT lanes from 2 to 3 lanes all the way Garrisonville.

I don't. It'd be a waste of money that would leave US-1 otherwise overcapacity on any given day. A few weekends of heavy traffic isn't the end of the world. Look at what Metro riders are putting up with in Safetrack.

I'll take overcapacity over undercapacity any day. Yes some parts of US-1 are not nearly as bad as other parts, but if the incident in Atlanta should teach us anything, its that it pays to have
good alternate routes/options in the case of an emergency like there very well could have been had that hole in the Neabsco Creek Bridge gone unnoticed.

[Mapmikey]

Somehow I totally skipped over the northbound part when reading plus given it's on the weekend, you're right it shouldn't be bad. Still when I think about just the normal rush hour (and the occasional accidents that makes it even worse) I can't help but wonder if the state would've built a road or two radiating away from DC or the Beltway (doesn't even have to be freeway) between I-95 and I-66 would it be as bad as it is now? I'm not talking about long distance or anything but to at least maybe Prince William Parkway? Looking at it Virginia really doesn't have very many "spokes" outside the Beltway towards the south and the south-southwest to provide options. Can't widen 95 but so much. Maryland's side, though still bad, doesn't seem to be as bad as Virginia's

The Occoquan River and Occoquan Reservoir were likely the main hinderances.  This is likely why VA 350 ended at US 1 just north of the river when built in the 40s-50s.

VA 123's bridge over the Occoquan was still a tiny one lane truss bridge built in 1878 until Hurricane Agnes washed it away in 1972.  Then the replacement was just a simple bridge that was not replaced with a multilane bridge until 2007.

[cpzilliacus]

Somehow I totally skipped over the northbound part when reading plus given it's on the weekend, you're right it shouldn't be bad. Still when I think about just the normal rush hour (and the occasional accidents that makes it even worse) I can't help but wonder if the state would've built a road or two radiating away from DC or the Beltway (doesn't even have to be freeway) between I-95 and I-66 would it be as bad as it is now? I'm not talking about long distance or anything but to at least maybe Prince William Parkway? Looking at it Virginia really doesn't have very many "spokes" outside the Beltway towards the south and the south-southwest to provide options. Can't widen 95 but so much. Maryland's side, though still bad, doesn't seem to be as bad as Virginia's

There was once a proposal to build a new arterial or expressway-type road (something like the Fairfax County Parkway (VA-286) or the  Prince William Parkway (VA-294)) between Prince William County and Fairfax County called Ridgefield Road.  It would have crossed between the two counties roughly parallel to VA-612 (Yates Ford Road).  It was considered well into the 1990's, but is now pretty well dead.

Ridgefield Road would presumably not have provided relief for the traffic mess to come on I-95, but it would have provided a degree of network redundancy, which is a desirable thing.

[dfnva]

Somehow I totally skipped over the northbound part when reading plus given it's on the weekend, you're right it shouldn't be bad. Still when I think about just the normal rush hour (and the occasional accidents that makes it even worse) I can't help but wonder if the state would've built a road or two radiating away from DC or the Beltway (doesn't even have to be freeway) between I-95 and I-66 would it be as bad as it is now? I'm not talking about long distance or anything but to at least maybe Prince William Parkway? Looking at it Virginia really doesn't have very many "spokes" outside the Beltway towards the south and the south-southwest to provide options. Can't widen 95 but so much. Maryland's side, though still bad, doesn't seem to be as bad as Virginia's

There was once a proposal to build a new arterial or expressway-type road (something like the Fairfax County Parkway (VA-286) or the  Prince William Parkway (VA-294)) between Prince William County and Fairfax County called Ridgefield Road.  It would have crossed between the two counties roughly parallel to VA-612 (Yates Ford Road).  It was considered well into the 1990's, but is now pretty well dead.

Ridgefield Road would presumably not have provided relief for the traffic mess to come on I-95, but it would have provided a degree of network redundancy, which is a desirable thing.

Ridgefield Road (posted as SR 3300) was built in Prince William County (Dale City) between Dale Blvd. and Prince William Pkwy sometime around 2003 or 2004. It's, for the most part, posted at 50 mph. Is this part of what would've been included in the Ridgefield Road you're referring to? 

https://goo.gl/maps/nh5r6Xawpk62

If Ridgefield Rd were extended north of Prince William Pkwy onto Greatbridge Road (Formerly Asdee Lane), I can see it could roughly go in the same place where you're referring. Interestingly, around the same area, I wonder if there was at one time a bridge or ford that connected Fairfax County SR 610 (Wolf Run Shoals Rd) and Prince William County SR 610 (Bacon Race Road [now SR 896], Delaney Rd [now SR 2025], Cardinal Drive, and Neabsco Rd), which are both across the Occoquan from each other.

[dfnva]

As much as I've been interested in local roads for years, I had never heard of the Ridgefield Rd Occoquan River crossing proposal -- but find it quite fascinating. I read some old news articles from the Washington Post in the 1990s that the original Ridgefield Rd proposal would've gone from VA-234 northwest of Montclair, through Dale City, past the Prince William Pkwy (then Davis Ford Rd), across the Occoquan River, and eventually terminate at the Fairfax County Pkwy, but there was lots of outcry from Fairfax County residents and officials, so it was never built. In the meantime, the same traffic issues that people had concerns about a generation ago have gotten worse.

Is there a map that anybody has of what this proposed route would've looked like?  I've tried to search for one but can't find it.  I can only presume that Ridgefield Rd, built in 2003-2004, was part of the longer proposed route as well as an undeveloped sliver of forest separating the Mapledale and Lindendale communities south of Dale Blvd across where Ridgefield Rd ends.

There was also another plan that would've extended north from where the Prince William Pkwy turns at Old Bridge Rd along where Touchstone Circle is now.

[jwolfer]

WTOP Exclusive: Major backups expected due to urgent I-95 bridge fixes

Three areas of a crumbling bridge over Neabsco Creek, just south of Potomac Mills Mall in Virginia, need extensive repairs that will require southbound traffic to funnel through two lanes on the four-lane bridge from 9 p.m. Saturday, April 29, through 6 a.m. Monday, May 1, and again from 10 p.m. Friday, May 5, through 6 a.m. Monday, May 8.

This will be ugly.  Some drivers might be able to bail out to U.S. 17 to the west, or U.S. 301 to the east to avoid this.  U.S. 1 (Jefferson  Davis Highway) cannot handle that kind of bail-out traffic, and will quickly suffer a traffic melt-down.

For travelers from the Northeast to NC through FL, US 13 and 58 or 17 would be a good alternante route

LGMS428

[froggie]

I can't help but wonder if the state would've built a road or two radiating away from DC or the Beltway (doesn't even have to be freeway) between I-95 and I-66 would it be as bad as it is now? I'm not talking about long distance or anything but to at least maybe Prince William Parkway?

The 1969 highway plan had one such freeway-grade radial, which would have tied into the Beltway at Braddock Rd and run out to 234 roughly where it meets Prince William Pkwy and SR 649.  The wide right-of-way along Braddock on both sides of the Beltway is a relic of this plan, which was named the Monticello Freeway.  It would have been built right on top of Braddock Rd from roughly Guiney Rd (SR 651) to east of the Beltway near Backlick Rd (where it would have followed new-alignment to the also-cancelled Four Mile Run Expressway).

Ridgefield Road (posted as SR 3300) was built in Prince William County (Dale City) between Dale Blvd. and Prince William Pkwy sometime around 2003 or 2004. It's, for the most part, posted at 50 mph. Is this part of what would've been included in the Ridgefield Road you're referring to? 

Yes, but extending in both directions from what PWC actually built, based on the 1969 plan.  To the south, it would have tied into Cardinal Dr at Minnieville Rd.  To the north, I would not characterize it as "parallel to Yates Ford Rd" as CP suggested because the planned river crossing was closer to Occoquan than it wa to Yates Ford (at the bend in the river closest to Springwoods Dr).  The Monticello Freeway proposal I mentioned above was far closer to Yates Ford than Ridgefield Rd would have been.

On the Fairfax County side, Ridgefield Rd would have tied into Lee Chapel Rd (SR 643) at 123.  The main things it would have done were provide another local river crossing and enable denser development between Prince William Pkwy and 123 than currently exists (especially on the Fairfax County side).  As CP noted, it would have not really helped I-95.

I read some old news articles from the Washington Post in the 1990s that the original Ridgefield Rd proposal would've gone from VA-234 northwest of Montclair, through Dale City, past the Prince William Pkwy (then Davis Ford Rd), across the Occoquan River, and eventually terminate at the Fairfax County Pkwy

I have yet to find anything in the old planning documents to suggest such a routing for Ridgefield Rd.  Certainly not by that name, as your description suggests a PWC attempt to funnel Dale City traffic into the 123 bridge.  The Ridgefield Rd plan going at least back to the late '60s is as I described above.

Is there a map that anybody has of what this proposed route would've looked like?

You will not find it online (at least not currently).  It dates to a regional (Northern Virginia) planning document titled the 1969 Northern Virginia Major Thoroughfare Plan, which you can probably find at one of the major library hubs in the area...I got my photoscans and photocopies from the copy housed at the main Fairfax County Library branch in Fairfax City.

[Mapmikey]

If Ridgefield Rd were extended north of Prince William Pkwy onto Greatbridge Road (Formerly Asdee Lane), I can see it could roughly go in the same place where you're referring. Interestingly, around the same area, I wonder if there was at one time a bridge or ford that connected Fairfax County SR 610 (Wolf Run Shoals Rd) and Prince William County SR 610 (Bacon Race Road [now SR 896], Delaney Rd [now SR 2025], Cardinal Drive, and Neabsco Rd), which are both across the Occoquan from each other.

County maps into the 1950s imply the ford was available for use.  I would guess the ability to cross at SR 610 was eliminated when the Occoquan Dam was built in 1957.  This crossing goes back to Colonial times.

[dfnva]

Thanks for sharing the information - - I may see if one or more local libraries has the 1969 plan.

I can't help but wonder if the state would've built a road or two radiating away from DC or the Beltway (doesn't even have to be freeway) between I-95 and I-66 would it be as bad as it is now? I'm not talking about long distance or anything but to at least maybe Prince William Parkway?

The 1969 highway plan had one such freeway-grade radial, which would have tied into the Beltway at Braddock Rd and run out to 234 roughly where it meets Prince William Pkwy and SR 649.  The wide right-of-way along Braddock on both sides of the Beltway is a relic of this plan, which was named the Monticello Freeway.  It would have been built right on top of Braddock Rd from roughly Guiney Rd (SR 651) to east of the Beltway near Backlick Rd (where it would have followed new-alignment to the also-cancelled Four Mile Run Expressway).

Ridgefield Road (posted as SR 3300) was built in Prince William County (Dale City) between Dale Blvd. and Prince William Pkwy sometime around 2003 or 2004. It's, for the most part, posted at 50 mph. Is this part of what would've been included in the Ridgefield Road you're referring to? 

Yes, but extending in both directions from what PWC actually built, based on the 1969 plan.  To the south, it would have tied into Cardinal Dr at Minnieville Rd.  To the north, I would not characterize it as "parallel to Yates Ford Rd" as CP suggested because the planned river crossing was closer to Occoquan than it wa to Yates Ford (at the bend in the river closest to Springwoods Dr).  The Monticello Freeway proposal I mentioned above was far closer to Yates Ford than Ridgefield Rd would have been.

On the Fairfax County side, Ridgefield Rd would have tied into Lee Chapel Rd (SR 643) at 123.  The main things it would have done were provide another local river crossing and enable denser development between Prince William Pkwy and 123 than currently exists (especially on the Fairfax County side).  As CP noted, it would have not really helped I-95.

I read some old news articles from the Washington Post in the 1990s that the original Ridgefield Rd proposal would've gone from VA-234 northwest of Montclair, through Dale City, past the Prince William Pkwy (then Davis Ford Rd), across the Occoquan River, and eventually terminate at the Fairfax County Pkwy

I have yet to find anything in the old planning documents to suggest such a routing for Ridgefield Rd.  Certainly not by that name, as your description suggests a PWC attempt to funnel Dale City traffic into the 123 bridge.  The Ridgefield Rd plan going at least back to the late '60s is as I described above.

Is there a map that anybody has of what this proposed route would've looked like?

You will not find it online (at least not currently).  It dates to a regional (Northern Virginia) planning document titled the 1969 Northern Virginia Major Thoroughfare Plan, which you can probably find at one of the major library hubs in the area...I got my photoscans and photocopies from the copy housed at the main Fairfax County Library branch in Fairfax City.

[1995hoo]

If you're in the Fairfax area, I can confirm the library in Fairfax City (formerly known as Central) still had the copy froggie mentions as of two years ago. It's up on the top floor.

[plain]

It happened again smdh..

http://wtvr.com/2017/04/13/bridge-over-i-95-repeatedly-struck-by-trucks/

I know VDOT has a plan in the works for an overheight truck detection system in Richmond  (not sure if this particular bridge is part of it) but it seems to me that they would have a warning sign before the previous exit in either direction.. the article suggests it's posted but I have yet to notice one

There is one SB posted for the Brook Rd overpass, but again it's after the previous exit.. what good does that do?
https://goo.gl/maps/844bfEFfCLU2

[Henry]

What is the deal with trucks hitting bridges? 11 times in the last 19 years is a bit much, don't you think?

[cpzilliacus]

It happened again smdh..

http://wtvr.com/2017/04/13/bridge-over-i-95-repeatedly-struck-by-trucks/

I know VDOT has a plan in the works for an overheight truck detection system in Richmond  (not sure if this particular bridge is part of it) but it seems to me that they would have a warning sign before the previous exit in either direction.. the article suggests it's posted but I have yet to notice one

There is one SB posted for the Brook Rd overpass, but again it's after the previous exit.. what good does that do?
https://goo.gl/maps/844bfEFfCLU2

This is a consequence of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike being old (open to trafic in 1958), though I am sure that some people will gladly try to blame VDOT.

The Baltimore-Harbor Tunnel (I-895) in Maryland is about the same age as the RTP (open 1957); the tunnel itself is signed for 13'6" and there are overheight detectors approaching the portal from the north (there are two) and from the south (there's one).  But even with the detectors, there are trucks that stop just short of the tunnel or get stuck in it.

IMO VDOT needs to more-aggressively sign  I-295 as the route for trucks that do not have to be in downtown Richmond on both I-95 and I-64.  Maybe take a cue from how Georgia signs the approaches to the Perimeter (I-285) to keep through truck trips away from downtown Atlanta.

[WillWeaverRVA]

It happened again smdh..

http://wtvr.com/2017/04/13/bridge-over-i-95-repeatedly-struck-by-trucks/

I know VDOT has a plan in the works for an overheight truck detection system in Richmond  (not sure if this particular bridge is part of it) but it seems to me that they would have a warning sign before the previous exit in either direction.. the article suggests it's posted but I have yet to notice one

There is one SB posted for the Brook Rd overpass, but again it's after the previous exit.. what good does that do?
https://goo.gl/maps/844bfEFfCLU2

It would honestly be a better idea to just demolish the bridge and have Henrico County build a road connecting to the orphaned segment of Scott Road. Might be easy enough to do with the Best Products Plaza being abandoned for several years now.

[plain]

It happened again smdh..

http://wtvr.com/2017/04/13/bridge-over-i-95-repeatedly-struck-by-trucks/

I know VDOT has a plan in the works for an overheight truck detection system in Richmond  (not sure if this particular bridge is part of it) but it seems to me that they would have a warning sign before the previous exit in either direction.. the article suggests it's posted but I have yet to notice one

There is one SB posted for the Brook Rd overpass, but again it's after the previous exit.. what good does that do?
https://goo.gl/maps/844bfEFfCLU2

This is a consequence of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike being old (open to trafic in 1958), though I am sure that some people will gladly try to blame VDOT.

The Baltimore-Harbor Tunnel (I-895) in Maryland is about the same age as the RTP (open 1957); the tunnel itself is signed for 13'6" and there are overheight detectors approaching the portal from the north (there are two) and from the south (there's one).  But even with the detectors, there are trucks that stop just short of the tunnel or get stuck in it.

IMO VDOT needs to more-aggressively sign  I-295 as the route for trucks that do not have to be in downtown Richmond on both I-95 and I-64.  Maybe take a cue from how Georgia signs the approaches to the Perimeter (I-285) to keep through truck trips away from downtown Atlanta.

Actually this particular overpass is on I-95's 1963 extension, not the original RPT (which has several  overpasses with even lower clearances) but yeah I completely agree. VDOT could very easily post a number of signs on the freeways approaching I-295 to warn about the low clearances plus a few standard signs in the correct places in case any trucks has to go into the city, etc.

It would honestly be a better idea to just demolish the bridge and have Henrico County build a road connecting to the orphaned segment of Scott Road. Might be easy enough to do with the Best Products Plaza being abandoned for several years now.

The county doesn't even have to that, just improve the existing Scott Rd as it connects to Park Central Dr, which connects to Parham. That bridge can definitely go though

[1995hoo]

No matter how well they sign it, someone will still mess up. Watch the videos from the Gregson Street railroad trestle in Durham (the "11foot8 Bridge"). Nice new light-up sign, but trucks still smash into it.

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Parts of 200 homes, businesses in path of Route 1 'superstreet'

Plans to widen Route 1 in Fairfax County will leave space in the middle of the road for a future bus rapid transit line, but could take pieces or more of 200 residential and business properties in the area.

A Richmond Highway Corridor Improvements public information meeting Tuesday night focuses on a $214.8 million project to widen about three miles of the existing road between Jeff Todd Way (near the Roy Rogers) and Napper Road (near the Costco and Wal-Mart) in the Mt. Vernon area from four regular traffic lanes to six traffic lanes.

The work would leave enough space between the new northbound and southbound lanes for bus-only lanes that are in the county's separate but related long-range plans. Those plans call for nine bus rapid transit stations from the Huntington Metro Station to Fort Belvoir by 2028, with plans for a later extension to Woodbridge.

FYI, I had posted the same article less than 60 seconds earlier, but I guess you did not notice it.    I went ahead and removed my post.   -Mark

[cpzilliacus]

FYI, I had posted the same article less than 60 seconds earlier, but I guess you did not notice it.    I went ahead and removed my post.   -Mark

Great minds think alike? 

[1995hoo]

Hopefully the widening won't destroy the Roy Rogers, although there's another nearby at Manchester Lakes.

[Rothman]

Why is the Roy Rogers worth saving?

[cpzilliacus]

Why is the Roy Rogers worth saving?

I am not down that way as much as Hoo (though I have eaten at that one), but it's probably the best fast food place in the general (U.S. 1) area.  Remember that Roy Rogers has something of a cult following in its original territory of metropolitan Washington, D.C.  Of course, they could probably build a replacement restaurant nearby (though getting the land with the appropriate zoning in Fairfax County, Virginia is not going to be cheap).

Even though it is not on the Fort Belvoir property, I suspect they get a lot of customers at lunch time from there.

[1995hoo]

BTW, cp, if you want I can give you a referral code for the Roy's Rewards program–when you sign up with the code, you get a $5 coupon.

[cpzilliacus]

BTW, cp, if you want I can give you a referral code for the Roy's Rewards program–when you sign up with the code, you get a $5 coupon.

Was not aware of that! I take my stepmother there (who has dementia but likes Roy Rogers for some reason) somewhat frequently.

[ARMOURERERIC]

I miss the horsey sauce.  And I am not confusing it with Arby's