3 years, 9 months: Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing complete

Construction on the $132 million Interstate 95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing project is complete, on time and on budget, VDOT says.

Local traffic and through traffic are now divided among six travel lanes between Exit 133 (Route 17) in Stafford County to south of Exit 130 (Route 3) in Spotsylvania County, which is significantly improving mobility on I-95 since 70% of the traffic volume crossing the Rappahannock River is local drivers accessing either the Route 17 and Route 3 interchanges or both.

Nearly 150,000 vehicles a day traveling on I-95 near the Rappahannock River, the second southbound bridge and additional travel lanes doubled southbound capacity to relieve congestion in the Fredericksburg area. Construction began in August 2018.

While construction is complete on the I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing project, work continues to build a second I-95 northbound bridge and travel lanes near the same interchanges, along with a fourth northbound lane between Exit 133 to Exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) as part of the I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing project.

Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc., of York, Pa. is the contractor for both Rappahannock River Crossing projects.

The I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing project will also rebuild the last Route 17 overpass in need of replacement at the Exit 133 interchange and build sidewalks along northbound Route 17 between Short Street and South Gateway Drive.

Construction on the $127 million I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing project began in fall 2020 and is expected to be completed in spring 2024.

Both Rappahannock River Crossing projects will connect with the future 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension, which is building 10 additional miles of reversible high-occupancy tolled lanes in the median of I-95 in Stafford from its current southern terminus point at Exit 143 (Route 610) to the Route 17 area.

Three new access points to express lanes are under construction at Exit 148 (Quantico), Exit 140 (Courthouse Road), and Exit 133.

The 10-mile extension of express lanes is expected to open to travelers in late 2023.

The nearly $1 billion Improve 95 program combines state, federal and private investment to unlock gridlock in the Fredericksburg area.