PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Virginia is rolling out chemical toilets to welcome motorists to the state.
No, it’s not because of budget cuts, or because the state is looking for ways to conserve water.
A water line break occurred near the rest stop just outside Manassas on Interstate 66 last week. The water to the sinks and toilets at the rest stop on the westbound stopped working.
Marquee signs greeted drivers looking for respite from the road that they would have to settle for a portable potty.
Transportation officials say they’re aware of the problem and working to fix it
“Crews are currently working to install a temporary line to restore normal service by the end of the week. Long-term we’ll be working to install a new permanent line,” stated Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord, who sent us a photo of ongoing work at the site.
There are about 20 safety rest areas, as they’re called, throughout Virginia. Prince William County has six of them — four in Dale City on I-95, and the two on I-66 currently with the water problem. It’s also important to note that these rest stops are the only one of their kind of I-66, a highway that runs the relatively short 76-mile span from Woodstock in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to Washington, D.C.
The highway is not related to historic U.S. Route 66, which ran from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. before it was removed from the federal highway system in the mid-80s.
