STAFFORD COUNTY — Traffic on Route 17 in Stafford County is about to come to a halt.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has scheduled a full traffic stop on Route 17 northbound at the Interstate 95 Exit 133/Falmouth interchange in Stafford County overnight on Wednesday, May 8.
Weather permitting, all traffic on Route 17 northbound will be stopped overnight up to 30 minutes between midnight and 3 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8. During the full traffic stop, all lanes on Route 17 southbound and all I-95 on- and off-ramps will remain open.
The full traffic stop is needed to allow crews to move a crane in the median as part of the I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River crossing project. In addition to a new three-lane bridge over the Rappahannock River, construction is underway to replace the two I-95 bridges over Route 17.
Message boards on Route 17 northbound will be posted later today to provide advance notice of the work zone and delay.
Virginia State Police will be on the scene to help with traffic control at the interchange.
The closure comes as taxpayers are footing the bill for a $132 million project to add a new Rappahannock River Crossing project with three new general purpose lanes for I-95 southbound stretching six miles in the current median of I-95. The new lanes will begin in the vicinity of Truslow Road in Stafford County, just north of Exit 133 at Route 17.
The new lanes will end about a mile south of Exit 130 at Route 3 near Fredericksburg, in Spotsylvania County.
The project seeks to reduce I-95 congestion in the Fredericksburg area by providing local traffic with additional lanes to travel between the Route 17 and Route 3 interchanges without merging into the interstate’s general purpose lanes, according to VDOT spokeswoman.
The three existing I-95 southbound lanes will be converted to carry those traveling to the Route 17 and Route 3 interchanges, as well as the Safety Rest Area and Virginia Welcome Center.
The project began in August 2018 and should be complete in May 2022.
