Virginia

[1995hoo]

My iPad isn't letting me embed the photo, so here's a link. VDOT tweeted a 1962 photo of the intersection of US-301, VA-2, and VA-207 in Bowling Green.

https://x.com/VaDOT/status/2052842757815689295/photo/1

[Bitmapped]

This tweet has video from VDOT's sign shop. Figured it might be of interest.

https://x.com/VaDOTRVA/status/2052402849670160405

This suggests that the many route shield error signs come from one location...?

Interesting, given that there's not really a statewide standard for signage (i.e., normal-sized route markers in the southwestern part of the state and smaller unisigns in the Shenandoah Valley area).

Presumably the sign shop is just producing the signage, not designing the signage plans. They're just making whatever people back in the districts are ordering, whether that's a unisign or individual components.

[Takumi]

This tweet has video from VDOT's sign shop. Figured it might be of interest.

https://x.com/VaDOTRVA/status/2052402849670160405

This suggests that the many route shield error signs come from one location...?

They would haaaaate me if I worked there. 

I live about a mile from there and it's on my way to work and school. I should go yell at them.

[roadman65]

I was noticing on satellite images, that the Westbound tube of the Norfolk Downtown Tunnel dont have a ventallation building above its eastern portal like tge Eastbound tube has.

How does the tunnel ventilate without a system or is there another building nearby?

[WillWeaverRVA]

I was noticing on satellite images, that the Westbound tube of the Norfolk Downtown Tunnel dont have a ventallation building above its eastern portal like tge Eastbound tube has.

How does the tunnel ventilate without a system or is there another building nearby?

I'm pretty sure there is a ventilation building for the westbound tube in the Portsmouth Marine Terminal complex.

[Beltway]

I was noticing on satellite images, that the Westbound tube of the Norfolk Downtown Tunnel dont have a ventallation building above its eastern portal like tge Eastbound tube has.
How does the tunnel ventilate without a system or is there another building nearby?

They were retrofitted with jet fans in the 2012-16 ERT Tunnels Project. Ceilings removed, plenum ventilation system inactivated. Same with the original Midtown Tunnel.

[Mapmikey]

I was noticing on satellite images, that the Westbound tube of the Norfolk Downtown Tunnel dont have a ventallation building above its eastern portal like tge Eastbound tube has.

How does the tunnel ventilate without a system or is there another building nearby?

This article explains a little bit:
https://www.wtkr.com/transportation/how-fans-in-the-downtown-tunnel-saved-the-day-during-huge-car-fire

[Thing 342]

Recent update on the Colonial Parkway, the Williamsburg Tunnel finally re-opened on Friday.
https://www.nps.gov/colo/planyourvisit/colo-parkway-rehab.htm

Construction Update - May 2026

We are excited to report crews have made substantial progress across the project.

As of Friday May, 15, all work in the section between Parkway Drive and Newport Avenue in Williamsburg, including the Williamsburg Tunnel, is complete and the section of the Parkway is now open.

We remain on schedule to complete the full project by late fall of 2026.

The latest status of each segment:

    Segment A (Ballard Street to Fusiliers Redoubt Ramp): Crews have finished installing all new pavement panels. Current work includes grading and stabilizing shoulders, installing new timber guardrail, and erecting new roadway signs. Bridge crews also continue reinstalling brick facing on the Yorktown Creek Bridge parapet walls.
    Segments D&E (Felgates Creek to Penniman Road): Crews are currently performing punch list work, including final cleanup and shoulder stabilization.
    Segment F (Penniman Road to Parkway Drive): Crews are wrapping up subgrade stabilization work; once completed all subgrade stabilization work across the entire project will be complete. Crews also continue constructing new concrete pavement panels between Hubbard Lane and Parkway Drive.
    In Segment G1 (Newport Avenue to Route 199): Crews continue constructing new concrete pavement panels.
    In Segment G2 (Parkway Drive to Newport Avenue): All work is complete and section is now open.

Below is the latest status of the additional projects within the Parkway Project Corridor:

    Jones Mill Pond Dam: Crews have almost completed grading, stabilizing, and armoring of the upstream side, including turfing and planting. Workers have also replaced the top edge of the spillway. Masons are repointing and cleaning brickwork on both sides of the spillway. Crews are regrading and armoring the downstream side and are installing new drains to help manage runoff.
    Additional Bridges: Scheduled work on the Indian Field Creek Bridge and North Pier Access Bridge is now complete. Work on the Mine Depot Road Bridge will resume in July.


Please note: from June 10 through July 6, 2026, construction in Segments A-F (Ballard Street to Penniman Road) will temporarily pause, and this area will temporarily reopen to accommodate the significant visitation anticipated for this summer's Signature 250th events, including the Sail Yorktown Festival (June 12–14) and July 4th festivities. After these events, the area will close again so construction can resume and remain on track for completion by late fall 2026.

[Thing 342]

Recent update on the Colonial Parkway, the Williamsburg Tunnel finally re-opened on Friday.
https://www.nps.gov/colo/planyourvisit/colo-parkway-rehab.htm

...

Drove the re-opened segment today (basically just the Williamsburg Tunnel). Almost all of the guidance signage has been replaced with mixed-case Clearview

Also this sign has been replaced with a new one that still incorrectly shows VA-5 and VA-31: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fnwt5vCTbQr7hdkC9

[WillWeaverRVA]

Recent update on the Colonial Parkway, the Williamsburg Tunnel finally re-opened on Friday.
https://www.nps.gov/colo/planyourvisit/colo-parkway-rehab.htm

...

Drove the re-opened segment today (basically just the Williamsburg Tunnel). Almost all of the guidance signage has been replaced with mixed-case Clearview

Also this sign has been replaced with a new one that still incorrectly shows VA-5 and VA-31: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fnwt5vCTbQr7hdkC9

Go figure. Those should be VA 132 and VA 143 shields.

[1995hoo]

Apparently this is the scene on Route 29 just east of Warrenton near Dumfries Road this morning. That is a boulder next to the black sedan. The DC-area traffic reporter who tweeted this said to watch out for any roadrunners in the area this morning.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Apparently this is the scene on Route 29 just east of Warrenton near Dumfries Road this morning. That is a boulder next to the black sedan. The DC-area traffic reporter who tweeted this said to watch out for any roadrunners in the area this morning.

Ah, a large boulder the size of a small boulder.

[ElishaGOtis]

I found this from WAYYYY back in 2013...

https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+sum+HB1949

Not to say that the I-366 85mph thing held validity, buuuuuut...

(this was 80 instead of 85)

[sprjus4]

The Dulles Toll Road laughs at 55 mph.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The Dulles Toll Road laughs at 55 mph.

It blows my mind that the Dulles Toll Road still has a 55 mph speed limit. Even the Dulles Greenway went up to 65 mph a few years ago.

[WillWeaverRVA]

@Mapmikey @froggie There is a new VA 411 that appears to have just been added last month. It's the entrance road to Rappahannock Community College in Warsaw. I doubt it's posted since it's so new (the ArcGIS map says the status was changed on 5/20/26, and the LRS Route Master map from April shows it as an unnumbered road).

On another note, US 60 now appears to terminate at the beginning of the Atlantic Avenue loop on the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The loop itself no longer appears to be part of US 60.

[Mapmikey]

@Mapmikey @froggie There is a new VA 411 that appears to have just been added last month. It's the entrance road to Rappahannock Community College in Warsaw. I doubt it's posted since it's so new (the ArcGIS map says the status was changed on 5/20/26, and the LRS Route Master map from April shows it as an unnumbered road).

On another note, US 60 now appears to terminate at the beginning of the Atlantic Avenue loop on the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The loop itself no longer appears to be part of US 60.

I'm looking at this on my phone, but VA 411 appears to be only 99 meters long...

Another reminder of my perpetual annoyance with the CTB for no longer putting additions in the monthly minutes.

[WillWeaverRVA]

@Mapmikey @froggie There is a new VA 411 that appears to have just been added last month. It's the entrance road to Rappahannock Community College in Warsaw. I doubt it's posted since it's so new (the ArcGIS map says the status was changed on 5/20/26, and the LRS Route Master map from April shows it as an unnumbered road).

On another note, US 60 now appears to terminate at the beginning of the Atlantic Avenue loop on the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The loop itself no longer appears to be part of US 60.

I'm looking at this on my phone, but VA 411 appears to be only 99 meters long...

Another reminder of my perpetual annoyance with the CTB for no longer putting additions in the monthly minutes.

Yeah. It's reeeeeeally short. I don't know what the point of it is if the rest of Campus Drive (some of which is SR 1004 and SR 1036) isn't also part of it, seeing as the whole thing is maintained by VDOT.

[Thing 342]

I drove the freshly re-opened Colonial Parkway between Yorktown and Cheatham Annex today. Not super apparent what made this project take 3 years, but I'll take it I guess. Appears that the remaining work involves finishing up the bridge deck at Bracken Rd, questionable if this work merits closing the entire highway again.

There aren't too many changes to the roadway, mostly just new pavement, re-sodding, and at least 3 new bridge decks, and new signage. In particular there are new signs with shields for the US-17 and (still incorrectly posted) VA-199 exits. Indeed, almost all of the new signage is in mixed-case Clearview Series 3W (?), which is disappointing, but better than some of the stretched Rawlinson messes that they were posting in the 2010s: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DMM1Euiaa1whrzQm6

[74/171FAN]

@Mapmikey @froggie There is a new VA 411 that appears to have just been added last month. It's the entrance road to Rappahannock Community College in Warsaw. I doubt it's posted since it's so new (the ArcGIS map says the status was changed on 5/20/26, and the LRS Route Master map from April shows it as an unnumbered road).

On another note, US 60 now appears to terminate at the beginning of the Atlantic Avenue loop on the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The loop itself no longer appears to be part of US 60.

I'm looking at this on my phone, but VA 411 appears to be only 99 meters long...

Another reminder of my perpetual annoyance with the CTB for no longer putting additions in the monthly minutes.

Yeah. It's reeeeeeally short. I don't know what the point of it is if the rest of Campus Drive (some of which is SR 1004 and SR 1036) isn't also part of it, seeing as the whole thing is maintained by VDOT.

I drove over to Warsaw to check this out this morning, and there is a 411 rectangle, but no shields.

[Beltway]

Yeah. It's reeeeeeally short. I don't know what the point of it is if the rest of Campus Drive (some of which is SR 1004 and SR 1036) isn't also part of it, seeing as the whole thing is maintained by VDOT.

I drove over to Warsaw to check this out this morning, and there is a 411 rectangle, but no shields.

Have then implemented that Road Diet on US-360 yet?

[74/171FAN]

Yeah. It's reeeeeeally short. I don't know what the point of it is if the rest of Campus Drive (some of which is SR 1004 and SR 1036) isn't also part of it, seeing as the whole thing is maintained by VDOT.

I drove over to Warsaw to check this out this morning, and there is a 411 rectangle, but no shields.

Have then implemented that Road Diet on US-360 yet?

Apparently that was a 2024 thing.

[Beltway]

Yeah. It's reeeeeeally short. I don't know what the point of it is if the rest of Campus Drive (some of which is SR 1004 and SR 1036) isn't also part of it, seeing as the whole thing is maintained by VDOT.

I drove over to Warsaw to check this out this morning, and there is a 411 rectangle, but no shields.

Have then implemented that Road Diet on US-360 yet?

Apparently that was a 2024 thing.

Warsaw needs a US-360 bypass, as US-360 is on the state's 4-lane highway system. The other 3 locations could easily be widened to five 12-foot lanes with the center lane for left turns only. Callao and Lottsburg could use US-360 bypasses.

[Dirt Roads]

Have then implemented that Road Diet on US-360 yet?

Apparently that was a 2024 thing.

Indeed, those sections are now two-lane roads through town.  The road diet in Lottsburg was roughly a mile-and-a-half in length.

Warsaw needs a US-360 bypass, as US-360 is on the state's 4-lane highway system. The other 3 locations could easily be widened to five 12-foot lanes with the center lane for left turns only. Callao and Lottsburg could use US-360 bypasses.

No idea how accurate those ADT traffic projections from the 2024 map are, but they predict that roughly half of the traffic drops off on US-360 east of Warsaw.  On the other hand, US-360 picks up a great deal of traffic coming from the Northern Neck and further up in Northern Virginia from VA-202 coming off of VA-3.  Assuming that these are projecting peak ADT for the year 2035 (as opposed to AADT), it seems like VDOT might want to consider improvements between Callao -and- Montross to improve the route for vacation traffic. 

[Beltway]

Warsaw needs a US-360 bypass, as US-360 is on the state's 4-lane highway system. The other 3 locations could easily be widened to five 12-foot lanes with the center lane for left turns only. Callao and Lottsburg could use US-360 bypasses.

No idea how accurate those ADT traffic projections from the 2024 map are, but they predict that roughly half of the traffic drops off on US-360 east of Warsaw.  On the other hand, US-360 picks up a great deal of traffic coming from the Northern Neck and further up in Northern Virginia from VA-202 coming off of VA-3.  Assuming that these are projecting peak ADT for the year 2035 (as opposed to AADT), it seems like VDOT might want to consider improvements between Callao -and- Montross to improve the route for vacation traffic.

US-360 was planned to be 4-laned with town bypasses in 1964. US-58 South Boston to Reedville excepting inside of VA-288 and I-295 where other freeways connect it.

They ought to be working on completing it. A bypass at Heathsville would also be needed.

US-360 Rappahannock River and approaches  1.6 mi.
US-360 Heathsville Bypass  1.7   
US-360 Callao   0.6   
US-360 Heathsville - East   8.4   

https://www.roadstothefuture.com/Arterial_Virginia.html