While Stafford County leaders were careful not to use the word “study” last fall, the Boar Board of Supervisors asked officials at the Fredericksburg Metropolitan Planning Organization to research sites for a new river crossing to bridge the gap between Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and Fredericksburg.
The bridge would also serve as a bypass to river crossings on Interstate 95 and Route 1.
The work comes on the heels of FAMPO’s East-West Corridor Study, which examined congested corridors in the region, like Courthouse and Warrenton roads in Stafford and Route 3 in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County.
The study already suggests a new river crossing and extending Centreport Parkway, near Stafford Regional Airport, to Courthouse Road. The study also suggests a new I-95 interchange near the Fredericksburg Nationals baseball stadium, making it easeier to access the stadium and Fredericksburg Expo Center.
FAMPO Transportation Planning Director Ian Ollis says:
We have a staff level working group that is working on this question and providing updated reports to the FAMPO Policy Committee at present and will present to the Stafford County Board and the City. Council in Fredericksburg as the work progresses.
This follows a recommendation in the FAMPO East West Mobility Study that this possibility be investigated further also. That study report has served at the FAMPO Technical Advisory Committee in February and will be presented to the FAMPO Policy Committee in February (27th) also. The document is here:
We have a staff level working group that is working on this question and providing updated reports to the FAMPO Policy Committee at present and will present to the Stafford County Board and the City. Council in Fredericksburg as the work progresses.
This follows a recommendation in the FAMPO East West Mobility Study that this possibility be investigated further also. That study report has served at the FAMPO Technical Advisory Committee in February and will be presented to the FAMPO Policy Committee in February (27th) also.
The document is here:
https://fampo.gwregion.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/7.a_FAMPOEastWestIIRoadBikePedAdopt-23-09.Report.pdfThe latest presentation of the staff working group to the FAMPO Policy Committee is here:
https://fampo.gwregion.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/8.d_FAMPO-January-2023-River-CrossingV2.pdfThe working group continues to meet and will in March be begining the process of considering possible locations of a potential future bridge.
The work is being performed currently by staff has no addiitonal cost to FAMPO or the localities apart from staff time. In future, if the decision is taken to move forward, an engineering and NEPA environmental Study will be required which will have a cost.
All four FAMPO committees receive these updates (We updated our Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) last night in fact. All four of these committees are open public meetings and include public participation in every meeting.
I must stress the research is at an early stage. Two months from now we should have more information on this work.
Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Transportation is in the final stages of improving the I-95 crossing over the Rappahannock River. In December 2022, a new bridge carrying northbound traffic over the river opened. Work on completing the project is still ongoing.
Last spring, a new southbound portion of the project opened after nearly four years of construction, with a new bridge and three new travel lanes, with a $132 million price tag.
If you must travel, VDOT urges you to adjust your travel time based on road and weather conditions. Roads may be more severe based on forecasts north and west of the Fredericksburg area, warns the state agency.
Air temperatures will begin to fall today and stay below freezing over the weekend as well as pavement temperatures will grow colder, which can cause the potential for a flash freeze risk on any wet pavement. This may cause slick, hazardous road conditions. Icy conditions may occur first on bridges, overpasses, ramps, elevated surfaces, and in shaded areas.
High winds, with gusts surpassing 40 mph, are expected to continue into tomorrow, December 24, which could cause the potential for advisories.
Crews are continuing to monitor wind speeds at the bridges across the region. Crews are also monitoring for downed trees and debris on state-maintained roads.
Travelers should check 511Virginia for updates. High wind advisories may be posted for the bridges.
When a high wind advisory is posted at a bridge, high-profile vehicles such as tractor-trailers, box trucks, large vans, and SUVs are advised not to cross the bridge. Trucks carrying small or empty loads may be especially at risk.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors has expressed interest in researching a Rappahannock Crossing Parkway to alleviate traffic Interstate 95 corridor.
The Board approved a letter to the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization requesting that it research options for a new bridge over the Rappahannock River, west of I-95. The Board also asked FAMPO to consider fiscal impacts, potential funding opportunities, route options, and effects on existing road networks.
The Board asked FAMPO to keep it and other localities informed of any developments in its research. Fredericksburg bypass studies were done in 2013 and 2019. Officials balked when a proposed road came too close to existing neighborhoods.
The Board chose “research” instead of “study,” which had been used in a previous draft. Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke said “study” tends to have additional strings, such as federal and state funding. According to Bohmke, using the word “research” would give the FAMPO more flexibility.
FAMPO Director Ian Hollis was at the meeting to answer questions. Griffis-Widewater District Supervisor Tinesha Allen asked what the difference would be between research options now and previous studies.
Hollis said that previous studies had studied a bridge rather than the viability of many potential solutions. As of late, FAMPO’s focus has been on rail and transit solutions, getting people out of cars and onto public transportation. Hollis said new methods of data collection could aid in the research, such as streetlight data which can map the origin and destinations of commuters; this method was not available for the previous studies.
Hollis also mentioned that there had been renewed calls for an outer-connector road network that could potentially alleviate traffic issues in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area corridor.
FAMPO’s Citizen Citizen Transportation Advisory group’s August meeting discussed the viability of an outer connector, which would include an eastern connector road from Stafford to Spotsylvania and a western connector through Culpeper and Orange counties.
Following that discussion, a push by Stafford Supervisors led Henry Scharbenberg, the group’s chairman, to be booted from the panel. Scharpenburg pushed the idea of an outer connector without support from Supervisors, knowing an outer-connector road is not in the county’s long-range transportation plan, Supervisors told Potomac Local News.
Culpeper and Orange are not FAMPO members and would need to join for the project to be viable, said Hollis.
During the meeting, Bohmke said that she was not in favor of an outer connector for fear of the possibility of urban sprawl.
Another concern from Allen and George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen was a lack of communication between the organization and the county regarding matters on the connector.
Coen expressed concern that officials in nearby Fredericksburg seemed to know more about the issue than the county did and stressed that they should be kept in the loop if they were to be involved in such a project.
The Board approved the letter with a vote of 4-2-1. Allen abstained from the vote.
The retail and commercial portion of a 153-acre data center site in Gainesville is ready to be developed.
Developer Buchanan Partners says the first tenant at Gainesville Crossing will be a Sheetz gas station on the property at Interstate 66 and Route 29. While it can build a convenience store by-right, the developer is seeking a Special Use Permit to install gas pumps and a drive-through lane for customers to order and pick up food.
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A temporary traffic pattern on the Interstate 95 northbound off-ramp at the exit 133 (Route 17) interchange in Stafford County will take effect tomorrow, June 24, to improve safety during construction of the I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing Project.
I-95 northbound travelers seeking southbound Route 17 toward Falmouth will now come to a full stop at the end of the off-ramp, then turn right. Drivers will no longer have to yield and then merge into Route 17 southbound traffic.
The temporary traffic pattern will improve safety by removing the merge movement between the current off-ramp and Short Street as the project progresses at the interchange.
New signs will be uncovered and enforceable as crews close a portion of the existing off-ramp.
Click here to view a graphic.
A message board is posted to alert drivers to the new stop sign.
Drivers should be alert, use caution, and expect brief delays as travelers adjust to the temporary traffic pattern.
Once construction is complete, I-95 northbound travelers exiting Route 17 will use a single off-ramp. The new ramp will be controlled by a traffic signal at the Route 17 intersection and will have triple left-turn lanes to access northbound Route 17, and a right-turn lane to access southbound Route 17.
Click here to view a map of the future, final ramp traffic pattern.
Work is underway to build a second I-95 northbound bridge across the Rappahannock River and three additional lanes between exit 130 (Route 3) in Fredericksburg to exit 133. A fourth northbound lane is also being built between exit 133 to exit 136 (Centreport Parkway).
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.
Manassas commuters will need to find another way around some key railroad crossings next week.
The first of three closures will take place on Tuesday, July 6.
The first is the crossing on Wellington Road, near Jennie Dean School. Drivers will need to use Center Street (Route 28) or Prince William Street to get around the closure.
The second will be at nearby Ashton Avenue, near the Ashton Family Restaurant. Drivers should use Route 28 to Cockrell Road to avoid the closure.
And the third and final closure will take place on Wednesday, July 7, at the railroad crossing on Godwin Drive. Drivers will need to take Ashton Avenue or Wellington Road to get around the closure.
The closures come as Norfolk-Southern is performing maintenance on the railroad.
The public is invited to join the Virginia Department of Transportation for a virtual open house to learn about ongoing construction to improve Interstate 95 in the Fredericksburg area.
Project officials will share details on a new traffic pattern at Exit 133 (Route 17) in Stafford County that will begin Oct. 7, and a traffic shift on I-95 southbound scheduled for Oct. 13-14. The changes are part of the I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing project.
The virtual construction open house will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.
The public can participate by visiting the project page and using the WebEx conference link and passcode to join the open house. No pre-registration is required.
Participants can watch a brief presentation from VDOT staff, followed by a question and answer session. The virtual open house will be recorded and made available online.
New Traffic Pattern on Route 17 in Stafford County
Temporary traffic signals will be activated on Route 17 near the I-95 interchange in Stafford on Monday, Oct. 5. Drivers can expect daytime single lane closures on Oct. 5 as the traffic signals are placed in flash mode.
Two loop ramps are closing at I-95 southbound and Route 17 to allow crews to demolish and rebuild the existing I-95 southbound overpass at this interchange.
The signals will operate in flash mode for several days to allow motorists to adjust to their presence. The signal will then be placed in full color operation overnight on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
By early morning on Thursday, Oct. 8, travelers exiting I-95 southbound at Exit 133 to proceed north or south on Route 17 will use a single off-ramp. At the end of the ramp, motorists will have the choice to merge onto Route 17 northbound toward Warrenton, or use the temporary traffic signal to turn left onto Route 17 southbound toward Falmouth.
Route 17 northbound traffic will turn left at the temporary signal to enter the I-95 southbound on-ramp.
Watch a simulation video of this new traffic pattern for I-95 exiting to Route 17, and a simulation video demonstrating Route 17 northbound traffic entering I-95 southbound.
View a map showing the new pattern.
I-95 Southbound Traffic Shift
Travelers are also asked to plan ahead for major travel delays in the Fredericksburg area near the Exit 133 interchange from 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13 through 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Lane closures are needed for 19 consecutive hours of milling, paving and lane striping to shift southbound traffic onto a new interstate overpass that spans Route 17 in Stafford County.
I-95 southbound travelers are strongly encouraged to choose an alternate route to avoid delays, especially for destinations outside the Fredericksburg area.
What Travelers Can Expect
I-95 southbound will be reduced to two travel lanes beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. The work zone will begin south of Exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) in Stafford and will continue to the Rappahannock River bridge.
Traffic will be reduced to a single southbound lane at 9 p.m. that evening. I-95 southbound will remain reduced to a single lane until 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14.
View a map of this work zone.
When all I-95 southbound lanes reopen at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, traffic will be traveling over the new I-95 southbound overpass in the median of I-95, which will carry the future through travel lanes as part of the I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing.
Watch a simulation video of this new traffic pattern.
All lanes of I-95 northbound will remain open near Exit 133 during this traffic shift.
In the event of inclement weather, this work zone will be rescheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15.
Project Background
Construction on the I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing began in August 2018 and will be underway through May 2022.
The $132 million project is building three additional travel lanes between Exit 133 in Stafford and Exit 130 (Route 3) in Fredericksburg, and will build a new bridge span over the Rappahannock River.
New lanes are being built parallel to the existing southbound lanes in the median. With nearly 150,000 vehicles a day traveling on I-95 near the Rappahannock River, the new lanes will allow local traffic to travel along I-95 between interchanges separated from regional and interstate traffic traveling through the Fredericksburg area.
The I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing project will build additional northbound travel lanes between the same interchanges. Preliminary construction activities began in summer 2020, and new lanes will open to traffic in early 2024.
Both Rappahannock River Crossing projects will connect with 95 Express Lanes, which are being extended over 10 additional miles in Stafford to the Route 17 area. The 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension is under construction and will open to traffic in late 2022.
For additional information, please visit the Improve 95 website.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded a contract to begin construction on a project that will add northbound travel lanes to Interstate 95. The objective is to reduce driver delays in the Fredericksburg area between two of the busiest interchanges in the region.
The project contract was awarded to Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc., of York, Pa. Wagman was awarded $107.5 million to use for the project.
The I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing project will add three additional travel lanes between exit 130 (Route 3) in the City of Fredericksburg and exit 133 (Route 17) in Stafford County, and will build a new bridge span over the Rappahannock River.
New lanes will be built parallel to the existing northbound lanes in the median. With nearly 150,000 vehicles a day traveling on I-95 near the Rappahannock River, the new lanes will allow local traffic to travel along I-95 between interchanges separated from regional and interstate traffic traveling through the Fredericksburg area.
The Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing will complement a similar project under construction on I-95 southbound in the Fredericksburg area. The I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing, which will open to traffic in spring 2022, is adding three southbound lanes and a new river span in the I-95 median between the Route 17 and Route 3 interchanges.
Both Rappahannock River Crossing projects will connect with 95 Express Lanes, which are being extended over 10 additional miles in Stafford to the Route 17 area. The 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension is under construction and will open to traffic in late 2022.
Several features will be built along with the new northbound lanes as part of the I-95 Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing, which is estimated to open to traffic in spring 2024:
- A fourth I-95 northbound auxiliary lane from exit 133 (Route 17) to exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) in Stafford
- A sidewalk underneath the I-95 overpasses of Route 17 in Stafford, which will link residential neighborhoods east of I-95 with commercial destinations west of I-95, providing safe passage for pedestrians to walk travel between home, work, and businesses
- Replacement of the I-95 northbound collector-distributor bridge that carries traffic to and from the exit 133 (Route 17) interchange, which will eliminate a lower-clearance bridge frequently struck by tractor-trailers and oversized vehicles
- Two new traffic signals at Route 17 which will be installed to improve traffic flow and enhance safety through the interchange by reducing vehicle merging and weaving. The new interchange pattern will operate similarly to recent safety improvements at exit 130 (Route 3).
A public hearing will be held next week on an environmental study of the proposed Rappahannock River Crossing project on Interstate 95.
The crossing would add collector-distributor lanes parallel to the general purpose lanes of I-95 between Route 17 in Stafford and Route 3 in Fredericksburg.
The public hearing will be held:
