STAFFORD — There is a plan for a new, nearly $9 million signal light, intersection, and street in North Stafford.
The signal light will be erected on Route 1 between Woodstock Lane and Telegraph Road, at a crucifix noting the site of Virginia’s first Catholic settlement.
The newly created intersection and signal light will provide better access Shirley Heim Middle School on Telegraph Road, and Widewater Elementary School on Den Rich Road.
It will also provide relief for drivers who turn left from Telegraph Road onto Route 1 south at the crucifix. This intersection was the site of at least 22 crashes in 2017, Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur told the Stafford County Board of Supervisors last fall.
“Right now, bus drivers must go all the way up to Boswells Corner to turn onto Telegraph Road to get to the schools,” said Widewater District Supervisor Jack Cavalier.
That’s about six miles north of the crucifix.
The project is slated to cost $8.8 million, with $1.3 million coming from county funds that were collected for the construction a parkway that was never built, following the demise of a project that aimed to put 600 homes on the Widewater peninsula.
In addition to the new light and intersection on Route 1, a new street will be built over property zoned for commercial use. County documents state the land on which the new street will be located is being donated to the county by the property owner.
The newly built street will have two left turn lanes onto Route 1 south, and a through and right-turn lane onto Route 1 north. There will also be left and right turn lanes for travelers on Route 1 north and south to access the new street.
The new street will provide new opportunities for economic development in the corridor, according to county documents.
Officials decided to go with the option to build a new street instead of placing a signal at the existing intersection of Route 1 and Woodstock Lane. That lane is one of the oldest streets in Stafford County, and would have required widening, which would have meant some of the residents who live on the street could have been displaced, said Cavalier.
A temporary signal light will be installed at the crucifix intersection this summer and will be removed when the new intersection opens.
