River Crossing project starts late summer, will double I-95 capacity in Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG — A new project to ease congestion on Interstate 95 south will double the number of lanes through Fredericksburg.

It’ll also include a new river crossing about 90 feet above the Rappahannock River.

And, it’ll include a new important decision point drivers have never faced before on this stretch of I-95 — when to merge to access both Route 17 in Stafford and Route 3 in Fredericksburg — as drivers will need to pay attention and choose to exit a lot sooner than they do today.

Transportation officials came to James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg on Thursday to outline the $101.6 million river crossing project that will begin late this summer.

Three new southbound lanes will be built in what today is the grassy median of the highway. They’ll be used for through-travelers headed to Richmond and points south.

Drivers will still be able to he old existing lanes to get to Routes 3 and 17, but they will be converted to collector-distributor lanes, similar to those on I-95 at Dale Boulevard in Dale City. Once drivers get into the collector-distributor lanes at Route 17 in Stafford, there’s no getting back out of them until you get south of Route 3.

And, if you’re headed to Routes 3 or 17 and don’t get into the collector-distributor lanes, you won’t be able to access either road. You’ll need to go south to milepost 126 in Spotsylvania and turn around. 

The new decision point for which lanes to choose will come at the northernmost point of the river crossing project, just north of Route 17 at the Truslow Road overpass in Stafford County.

New overhead signs will be installed to tell drivers who want to get off onto Routes 3 or 17 to stay to the right to enter the collector-distributor lanes, while drivers headed to Richmond will stay left.

“This will the the biggest thing people will notice about the project” said Robert Ridgell, who is managing the project for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

These new lanes won’t be tolled, or will they be apart of the extension of the I-95 E-ZPass Express Lanes from Garrisonville Road to Route 17, dubbed “FredEx.”

And the new river crossing lanes will always be pointed south, unlike the reversible E-ZPass lanes that carry drivers north to Washington, D.C. in the mornings and south in the afternoons.

The new river crossing lanes will carry drivers as far south as the Splitsville bowling alley and Paragon movie theater that are visible from I-95. At this point, drivers from the collector-distributor lanes will merge back in with regular southbound traffic on I-95. The number of southbound lanes will then reduce from six to three.

The project should be completed in 2022 before work on the extension of the E-ZPass lanes begins. Right now, there’s no timeline on the E-ZPass  “FredEx” extension, however, when it’s complete, southbound drivers bound for Richmond will seamlessly transition to the newly constructed river crossing lanes.

Route 17 interchange improvements

The river crossing project also brings with it improvements to the interchange at I-95 and Route 17 in Stafford County. Two structurally deficient bridges that today carry cars on I-95 north and south over Route 17 will be replaced.

Work on the intersection should begin by summer 2020. At least two of the four cloverleaf ramps at this intersection will be closed and a temporary signal put in place during construction of the new bridges, resulting in a new temporary traffic pattern.

Starting in summer 2020, Drivers getting off I-95 south onto Route 17 north and south to Warrenton and Falmouth, respectively, will use the same ramp. The temporary signal light will be at the end of the ramp, and drivers headed to Falmouth will use it to turn left onto Route 17.

Drivers coming from Falmouth headed to I-95 south will go to the light and then turn left onto a ramp that will carry them to I-95 south.

That ramp — which is today known as a notorious choke point for Route 17 south traffic merging onto I-95 south — will be widened to two lanes to add capacity to allow more drivers access to the highway at one time as part of the project.

During Thursday’s meeting, one person said that while the temporary signal light is in place, many drivers may be tempted to skirt the long backup at the ramp from Route 17 to I-95 south and instead go the traffic signal and turn right.

Ridgell said that would be an illegal maneuver and that police may be needed in the area to patrol that intersection during construction.

When complete, there will be three new bridges carrying cars over Route 17. But there is not a plan for a pedestrian walkway. Residents said that is concerning as many people today walk along Route 17 underneath the existing bridges.

Ridgell said his team is reviewing plans and looking at the possibility of adding a pedestrian walkway as part of the newly redesigned intersection.

Once the new intersection is complete, the traffic signal will be removed and all four cloverleaf ramps open to traffic.

New crossing

A new Rappahannock River crossing will be built in between the current two bridges.

With the river being a popular destination for kayakers and outdoor enthusiasts, Ridgell said he aims to keep at least a portion of the river accessible for recreational use throughout nearly the entire project.

At the river, stones will be used to build a causeway across the water so construction equipment will be able to access the points where new concrete beams will be erected to support the beams.

For about two weeks in late summer 2019, however, the river will close for recreational uses as the stone causeway is extended across the river and the final bridge beams are put in place.

The causeway is slated to be removed once construction of the new bridge is completed.

Old river locks located at the base of where the new bridge will go will be protected as part of the project. Ridgell said the locks have historical significance and that VDOT is required by law to preserve them.