SLOW GOING: I-95 at Occoquan most congested in Virginia

FREDERICKSBURG — Drivers who use Interstate 95 at Occoquan have it the worst.

New data from the Virginia Department of Transportation marks the notorious bottleneck at the Occoquan River, where eight lanes reduce to six, as the most congested portion of I-95 in Virginia.

The delays here are three times longer than anywhere else along the highway in Virginia. The average speed limit: 22 mph.

Between 2015 and 2018, state officials studied traffic conditions from the highway’s southernmost point in the state at the North Carolina border to the northernmost point at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Alexandria.

They brought those results to James Monroe High School on Tuesday night, where Virginia Deputy Secretary Nick Donahue with a crowed of residents that filled the school’s cafeteria.

Other data show that whether it’s on a weekday or weekend, drivers on I-95 between Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg and the Potomac River sit in gridlock.

“It’s just something you can count on,” said Donahue.

Tuesday’s was the second of three public meetings along the corridor to discuss the findings of the study. Transportation officials wanted to present their findings to illustrate how bad the traffic problem is and to solicit public feedback.

In September, Donahue is expected to return to the region in a series of public meetings to discuss possible solutions to the problem. They could include expanded service on Virginia Railway Express, new bus service, or further road improvements.

Donahue said he’s “agnostic” about a solution, noting that he doesn’t favor any one solution over another, such as expanding rail service or adding new lanes to the highway, he said.

There is some good news for drivers at Occoquan. Earlier this year, state officials said the would add an auxiliary lane by converting the right shoulder of I-95 south between Route 123 at Occoquan and Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge for use as a regular lane.

“This is good news, but it’s not great news,” said Donahue. “There is still going to be a problem even after that lane is built.”

I-95 at the Occoquan features a congested interchange, as traffic from Route 123 is entering I-95 south where the new lane will begin.

Traffic on the highway is already stalled at this point because of a bottleneck just prior to the Route 123 interchange, where travel lanes are reduced from four to three.

Good news for Dumfries?

The General Assembly ordered VDOT to produce a study of the entire I-95 corridor earlier this year. Improving roads that run parallel to I-95, like Route 1, could be a potential outcome of the study.

Since the late 1990s, transportation officials have been discussing widening and realigning Route 1 in Dumfries. In 2018, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority gave the town $51 million for the right of way and design cost to realign a the portion of the roadway that runs through the town and to widen it from four to six lanes.

“This could be an outcome of the study, and that would be very important to the people of Dumfries,” said NVTA Chairman Martin Nohe, who also represents the Coles District on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

The town still needs $100 million to fund construction of the road. No one yet knows from where that money will come.

At Tuesday’s meeting, some residents complained the state should crack down harder on drivers who stay in the left lane. Another said the state should implement user fees, essentially taxing drivers for using the general-purpose lanes.

There was no talk of adding toll booths to the highway, which can only be done south of Fredericksburg after the state signed an agreement with the operators of the I-95/395/495 E-ZPass Express Lanes operator Transurban.

“God, I hope that’s not the solution,” State Senator Jeremy McPike told Potomac Local. “We need to look at all options in the corridor to include high-speed rail.”

Of the five major interstate highways in Virginia, the I-95 corridor is the only one with every form of multi-modal transportation available in Virginia already in use. That includes commuter rail, bus, slugging, vanpooling, and Metro.

New money

Also this year, Gov. Ralph Northam signed into a law an increased truck registration fee, and a higher diesel fuel sales tax as part of a deal to improve I-81 in western Virginia, a highway used by 12 million trucks a year.

The I-95 corridor is expected to get $40 million in new funding directly from the new tax revenue. That money won’t be available until next year, and, at this point, it’s not been allocated to any project.

10,000 cars per hour

The E-ZPass Express Lanes on I-95 were credited with moving 10,000 cars per lane, versus 4,000 cars per lane in the travel (untolled, non-carpool) lanes.

“When you’re sitting in stopped traffic [on the travel lanes] and you look over at the Express Lanes and see what looks like a few cars whizzing by, it’s easy to say “there’s nobody using those lanes,” said Donahue.

Slugs, vanpool, and commuter buses use the E-ZPass lanes, which all have vehicles carrying more than one occupant, effective moving more people than the regular travel lanes, he added.

A total of 61% of those who use I-95 from Occoquan to go to points north are riding a commuter bus, slugging, or vanpooling. That’s compared to 36% of highway users from the Fredericksburg area, where the E-ZPass Express Lanes are to be extended.

There are a total of 179 miles of Interstate 95 in Virginia, between North Carolina and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (Interstate 395 carries drivers into Washington, D.C. and was not included in this study).

The highway moves $195 billion in goods and services annually, carrying 9 million trucks a year. The highway averages 21,000 crashes a year.