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[MASTERNC]

I see 15/29 being the best bet, at least in winter.  If conditions are worse in the mountains, getting over to I-81 might not be the easiest thing.  In this case, at least you could have taken 29 to I-66 and cut back over to DC.

For Philly/NY, heading up 15 to Frederick and heading east on I-70 to Baltimore would at least get you back to 95 (or you could head up 83 to the Turnpike).

[ahj2000]

Pulled over from the US-301 Nice Memorial Bridge thread:

Throughout the day today I had been continually checking google maps traffic conditions at the bridge. At one point, there was a 5 mile long dark red traffic jam on the Virginia side heading north, presumably in an attempt to avoid the mess that was I-95. I'm glad that the new bridge is adding lanes because there needs to be more redundancy in Potomac River crossings outside the DC metro.

I remember about 15 years ago I was traveling north on I-95 on a Sunday afternoon in the Summer (big mistake!).  I got into congestion somewhere between Richmond and Fredericksburg on I-95 so I took VA Route 3 to US 301 and thought I had effectively bypassed the congestion but then I got into backup on US 301 right before the Potomac River (4 lanes merge into 2).  It was pretty long at least 2 miles, but 5 is pretty bad in the winter.  It shows you how much Northern VA and Southern MD has grown in 15 years.  A US 301 freeway upgrade would be GREAT!  But at least they are addressing that merge bottleneck.

As mentioned by others upthread, both US-1 and US-301/VA-2 are neither suitable alternatives when I-95 is shut down (for obvious reasons).  I've always taken US-522 as an outlet valve, eventually working my way over to US-15/US-29 and beyond, if necessary.  I would rather spend 6 hours cruising around the beautiful Virginia countryside that 8 hours or more stuck between Richmond and Northern Virginia.  If one is going all the way to New York, simply focus on how to get to Harrisburg the fastest way.  If going to Baltimore (or even Suburban Maryland), try to focus on getting to Frederick the fastest way (even if it means heading west of the Blue Ridge through eastern West Virginia).  Philly and New Jersey are a mixed bag, but a couple of in between options I've used more than once are US-30 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

It was easier to develop these habits during the NMSL-55 days, but the rules seem to work even better with the alternative routes having higher speeds (as compared to near zero along the I-95 corridor).

All this shows—there’s a lot of redundancy in the Interstate system further northeast…but nothing to bypass the DC Metro. The Beltway is terrible, 301 freeway for the win! If it connected all the way up to Delaware using DE 1 to return to 95, that’d be fantastic. If it only went to Bowie, took MD-3 to I-97, that’d still take off a ton of people. (Ideally, with my option B here, the whole 301/MD-3 thing would be I-97’s extension, and the little tail of 97 left over would be like an I-197. But I digress, as this is not Fictional.)

[mrsman]

Pulled over from the US-301 Nice Memorial Bridge thread:

Throughout the day today I had been continually checking google maps traffic conditions at the bridge. At one point, there was a 5 mile long dark red traffic jam on the Virginia side heading north, presumably in an attempt to avoid the mess that was I-95. I'm glad that the new bridge is adding lanes because there needs to be more redundancy in Potomac River crossings outside the DC metro.

I remember about 15 years ago I was traveling north on I-95 on a Sunday afternoon in the Summer (big mistake!).  I got into congestion somewhere between Richmond and Fredericksburg on I-95 so I took VA Route 3 to US 301 and thought I had effectively bypassed the congestion but then I got into backup on US 301 right before the Potomac River (4 lanes merge into 2).  It was pretty long at least 2 miles, but 5 is pretty bad in the winter.  It shows you how much Northern VA and Southern MD has grown in 15 years.  A US 301 freeway upgrade would be GREAT!  But at least they are addressing that merge bottleneck.

As mentioned by others upthread, both US-1 and US-301/VA-2 are neither suitable alternatives when I-95 is shut down (for obvious reasons).  I've always taken US-522 as an outlet valve, eventually working my way over to US-15/US-29 and beyond, if necessary.  I would rather spend 6 hours cruising around the beautiful Virginia countryside that 8 hours or more stuck between Richmond and Northern Virginia.  If one is going all the way to New York, simply focus on how to get to Harrisburg the fastest way.  If going to Baltimore (or even Suburban Maryland), try to focus on getting to Frederick the fastest way (even if it means heading west of the Blue Ridge through eastern West Virginia).  Philly and New Jersey are a mixed bag, but a couple of in between options I've used more than once are US-30 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

It was easier to develop these habits during the NMSL-55 days, but the rules seem to work even better with the alternative routes having higher speeds (as compared to near zero along the I-95 corridor).

All this shows—there’s a lot of redundancy in the Interstate system further northeast…but nothing to bypass the DC Metro. The Beltway is terrible, 301 freeway for the win! If it connected all the way up to Delaware using DE 1 to return to 95, that’d be fantastic. If it only went to Bowie, took MD-3 to I-97, that’d still take off a ton of people. (Ideally, with my option B here, the whole 301/MD-3 thing would be I-97’s extension, and the little tail of 97 left over would be like an I-197. But I digress, as this is not Fictional.)

We need both the eastern and western bypasses of the DC area.  The eastern bypass, while not entirely freeway, is at least marked as  a continuous route US 301.  Yes, as you've said, a freeway routing of US 301 and MD-3 will at least provide a DC bypass to bring traffic from Richmond and further south to Baltimore.  It will lead to the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, which is really underutilized as most northeast corridor traffic is using the Ft McHenry Tunnnel, and will get you to I-95 north of Baltimore, which tends to handle traffic nicely except at commuting hours.

Eastern shore freeway along the northern stretch of US 301, while nice, would not be as necessary for these purposes.  It still won't be able to avoid the mess at the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

[LM117]

Governor-elect Youngkin has picked Sheppard Miller III to be the next Secretary of Transportation.

https://www.wavy.com/news/politics/virginia-politics/youngkin-taps-retired-norfolk-businessman-for-transportation-secretary/

[VTGoose]

Gov. Northam in one of his final acts puts in motion plans to complete U.S. 460 to Kentucky. It won't be completed until 2026 though.

"Governor Ralph Northam today announced a comprehensive agreement to construct the $207 million Route 460/121 Poplar Creek “Phase B” project in Buchanan County.

"The project — known as Corridor Q — is part of the National Highway System. Poplar Creek Phase B is just under two miles in length and will be a two-lane roadway with climbing lanes as needed, stretching from the east end of U.S. 460/121 Poplar Creek Phase A near U.S. 604 (Poplar Creek Road) to existing U.S. 460 at Grundy.

"While the majority of funds used for the Corridor Q projects in Buchanan County to date have been state matched federal funds, the advancement of the construction of Poplar Creek Phase B at this time was made possible by flexibility provided by the 2020 Transportation Omnibus Legislation, the governor’s office said.

"A distinctive feature of the Corridor Q projects in Buchanan County is the use of the coal synergy process. VDOT and its public-private partner Bizzack Construction LLC, incorporated the coal synergy process into the majority of the projects, reducing road-building costs by using larger earth-moving machinery traditionally used by coal companies to prepare the road bed to rough grade, and allowing the company to recover merchantable coal reserves during the road bed preparation."

https://cardinalnews.org/2022/01/14/northam-announces-final-phase-of-460-construction-in-buchanan-county/

[hbelkins]

So there will be a two-lane gap in what otherwise would be a four-lane between Pikeville and Roanoke?

And wasn't the coal company-state partnership the same type of deal that was struck down in West Virginia for the US 52 King Coal Highway project?

[Dirt Roads]

And wasn't the coal company-state partnership the same type of deal that was struck down in West Virginia for the US 52 King Coal Highway project?

But the King Coal public-private partnership turned out to be deemed illegally sole sourced.  If that wasn't bad enough, another case determined that wages on that project were subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (prevailing wages are to be paid on Federally-funded projects).  That coal contractor was Nicewonder Contracting, who just recently completed a similar public-private partnership project to construct the new [Mingo Regional] Airport (a.k.a. Appalachian Regional Airport), as well as donating the previously reclaimed mine for the Mingo Central High School (completed 2011).  Nicewonder has been part of Alpha Metallurgical since 2005, but Don Nicewonder still has a strong hand in the business.  None of this rings as a scandal, but who knows?

[tolbs17]

So there will be a two-lane gap in what otherwise would be a four-lane between Pikeville and Roanoke?

And wasn't the coal company-state partnership the same type of deal that was struck down in West Virginia for the US 52 King Coal Highway project?

I really think it should be upgraded to interstate standards to reflect I-73 and I-74 going on it to bypass the Charleston traffic and provide better access to the Midwest...

That being said, I wish VDOT just signs I-74 now to Wytheville.

[sprjus4]

So there will be a two-lane gap in what otherwise would be a four-lane between Pikeville and Roanoke?

And wasn't the coal company-state partnership the same type of deal that was struck down in West Virginia for the US 52 King Coal Highway project?

I really think it should be upgraded to interstate standards to reflect I-73 and I-74 going on it to bypass the Charleston traffic and provide better access to the Midwest...

That being said, I wish VDOT just signs I-74 now to Wytheville.

I-73 and I-74 are likely never going to leave North Carolina to begin with, let alone get north of I-81.

[plain]

So there will be a two-lane gap in what otherwise would be a four-lane between Pikeville and Roanoke?

And wasn't the coal company-state partnership the same type of deal that was struck down in West Virginia for the US 52 King Coal Highway project?

I really think it should be upgraded to interstate standards to reflect I-73 and I-74 going on it to bypass the Charleston traffic and provide better access to the Midwest...

That being said, I wish VDOT just signs I-74 now to Wytheville.

I-73 and I-74 are likely never going to leave North Carolina to begin with, let alone get north of I-81.

I-73 still has a shot, but just to Roanoke.

I-74, not so much.

[WillWeaverRVA]

So a weird bill is currently in the Virginia House Transportation Committee. It proposes to petition AASHTO to reroute US 60 along I-64 between Exits 50 and 55 (extending an existing concurrency), then southward along US 11 to the interchange with current US 60.

What's weird about that? They want to renumber the original segment US 850.

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB31

[74/171FAN]

So a weird bill is currently in the Virginia House Transportation Committee. It proposes to petition AASHTO to reroute US 60 along I-64 between Exits 50 and 55 (extending an existing concurrency), then southward along US 11 to the interchange with current US 60.

What's weird about that? They want to renumber the original segment US 850.

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB31

I think I would prefer US 60-1 (remember US 17-1) over US 850.  US 850 is just a wee bit sure of the 300-mile rule.   

[1995hoo]

Congressman Don Beyer might like the "850" number (despite no longer being engaged in his other line of work).

[hbelkins]

The rerouting makes as little sense as does the renumbering. a more logical rerouting would be I-64 to I-81 to the existing US 60 exit, and call existing 60 Business 60.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The rerouting makes as little sense as does the renumbering. a more logical rerouting would be I-64 to I-81 to the existing US 60 exit, and call existing 60 Business 60.

I agree, if they're going to extend the US 60/I-64 concurrency they might as well go all the way east of Lexington and change existing US 60 to US 60 BUSINESS.

I really don't know where US 850 came from, unless they meant to say SR 850, which would make more sense since that's the number for the segment of Midland Trail that used to be US 60 before it was put on I-64.

[Mapmikey]

Note it says to the US 11-60 jct in Downtown Lexington, which implies using US 11 Business through VMI to Downtown...

Concur it makes no sense to reroute if not going I-64 to I-81.

[Dirt Roads]

So a weird bill is currently in the Virginia House Transportation Committee. It proposes to petition AASHTO to reroute US 60 along I-64 between Exits 50 and 55 (extending an existing concurrency), then southward along US 11 to the interchange with current US 60.

What's weird about that? They want to renumber the original segment US 850.

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB31

Most certainly a typo.  SR-850 is the old US-60 routing west of Lexington, which just happens to end at Exit 50 (the east end of the US-60 concurrency with I-64).  However, given that this is a General Assembly bill it could be formalized as US-850 and then disapproved by AASHTO.  Never a dull moment.

[VTGoose]

Federal money is coming to upgrade two Virginia highways. Sen. Mark Warner is touting his role in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes specific targeted funds.

"I wanted to reach out briefly to share another major funding announcement from this law – $20 million to help connect Virginia’s Appalachian region to national interstates via the Appalachian Development Highway System. This is a direct, targeted investment that will go straight to helping improve, expand, and connect local highways in rural Virginia. It’s an important move that will help increase access to all parts of the Commonwealth and create jobs in the process."

The graphic in the email shows Virginia interstates (leaving off I-77 north from Wytheville) and U.S. 460 from Christiansburg west and U.S. 48 west from Strasburg. The email offers no other details. It appears that this extra funding is in addition to what has already been tagged in the infrastructure act: Appalachian Development Highway System: $102,835,469

Bruce in Blacksburg

[WillWeaverRVA]

Chesterfield County is looking at developing part of the Magnolia Green community as a technology park in order to generate funding for the VA 76/Powhite Parkway extension to US 360 near Skinquarter. Not sure how practical this is but Magnolia Green is one of the fastest developing areas of the county.

https://www.chesterfield.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2549&fbclid=IwAR0oJScl5R4k-_UKNZSnZUdqdHICemimtST8Gg5WW2J0KA1pRTl-zW33W9s

[plain]

I wish VDOT and the county would hurry up already and make the extension a reality. Over the past 20+ years this went from a serious consideration to nothing to a maybe to we might finally do something to well let's just make it a boulevard to nah to we might do it.

It's not going to get cheaper the longer it gets pushed back. And seriously, why are they still showing that unnecessary routing south of US 360 back to I-95? Just stop it at US 360.

[plain]

Federal money is coming to upgrade two Virginia highways. Sen. Mark Warner is touting his role in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes specific targeted funds.

"I wanted to reach out briefly to share another major funding announcement from this law – $20 million to help connect Virginia’s Appalachian region to national interstates via the Appalachian Development Highway System. This is a direct, targeted investment that will go straight to helping improve, expand, and connect local highways in rural Virginia. It’s an important move that will help increase access to all parts of the Commonwealth and create jobs in the process."

The graphic in the email shows Virginia interstates (leaving off I-77 north from Wytheville) and U.S. 460 from Christiansburg west and U.S. 48 west from Strasburg. The email offers no other details. It appears that this extra funding is in addition to what has already been tagged in the infrastructure act: Appalachian Development Highway System: $102,835,469

Bruce in Blacksburg

Maybe some more Corridor Q-ing for US 460? Continue what's near the KY border?

As for US 48, probably a 4-lane arterial, at least it'll sort of match the WV side. Knowing VA, I don't see much in the way of limited access.

[WillWeaverRVA]

And seriously, why are they still showing that unnecessary routing south of US 360 back to I-95? Just stop it at US 360.

That's the East-West "Freeway" (actually a 2-lane road), which was canceled last year. It still appears because Chesterfield County hasn't revised their comprehensive plan since then.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Note it says to the US 11-60 jct in Downtown Lexington, which implies using US 11 Business through VMI to Downtown...

Concur it makes no sense to reroute if not going I-64 to I-81.

The bill was amended to remove the "downtown Lexington" part (suggesting that they meant the US 11/US 60 interchange east of Lexington), but it's a moot point now since the bill died in committee.

[sprjus4]

And seriously, why are they still showing that unnecessary routing south of US 360 back to I-95? Just stop it at US 360.

That's the East-West "Freeway" (actually a 2-lane road), which was canceled last year. It still appears because Chesterfield County hasn't revised their comprehensive plan since then.

Shouldn’t the design of the Powhite Parkway extension seamlessly tie into US-360 to the west then, now that the East-West freeway is canceled?

[Dirt Roads]

Note it says to the US 11-60 jct in Downtown Lexington, which implies using US 11 Business through VMI to Downtown...

Concur it makes no sense to reroute if not going I-64 to I-81.

The bill was amended to remove the "downtown Lexington" part (suggesting that they meant the US 11/US 60 interchange east of Lexington), but it's a moot point now since the bill died in committee.

Does that necessarily kill the project?  This is not such an expensive change that VDOT can't eat the cost now and reap the benefits later.  Or maybe reap the benefits now, as I suspect that this old section of US-60 is way overdue for replacement signage.  Anyhow, there's only the reassurance signs along I-64 for one more exit, the changes to BGS for both exits, and new signage for a short section of Lee Highway before the turn back onto The Midland Trail.  It is likely that this type of rerouting would be an easy pass for AASHTO Special Committee.