FREDERICKSBURG — Officials have decided to renew talks about an outer connector road, an Interstate 95 bypass that would help alleviate congestion.
During a meeting of the Fredericksburg Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO), officials set plans for new discussions regarding the long-planned project that dates back to the 1990s.
The road would run from I-95 at Massaponax west through Spotsylvania County. It would cross the Rappahannock River into Stafford County and then reconnecting to I-95 at Centreport Parkway, near Stafford Regional Airport.
Another possible route would see road construction begin east of Fredericksburg’s Shannon Airport which would run from Route 17 north across the Rappahannock River. It would continue across Route 3, through the White Oak section of Stafford County and then reconnect with I-95 at Centreport Parkway.
Stafford Aquia District Supervisor Cindy Shelton, who also sits on the FAMPO Board, reignited the discussion for the outer connector as a way to create an alternate route around Stafford County.
Next, FAMPO will evaluate concepts for the connector and possibly set up new studies to update information from previous studies. Many of the previous options made in the original study from 1997 are no longer viable because recently constructed homes now lie in the path of where the road was going to go.
The outer connector has been in the works since 1993 through numerous discussions and studies made. But support for the project has been shot down several times, twice by Spotsylvania County and once by Stafford County. A project of this magnitude would not only require cooperation from those counties but from Culpepper and Orange Counties as well.
Should the project ever get off the ground, it could mean many changes for the highways in the Northern Virginia area. In Prince William County, Route 234 between I-95 in Dumfries and I-66 in Manassas remains a “corridor of statewide significance,” which means the roadway could one day be upgraded to interstate highway standards (no signal lights, adding interchanges) to carry more traffic.
Other options could include a Bi-County Parkway that could run through Prince William and Loudoun Counties and could lead to Dulles Airport which would provide a straight shot for commuters and freight going back and forth from Dulles.
Loudoun County has already built Northstar Boulevard which could be used as the last connector leading to Dulles.
While there has been no set date, the meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place sometime in August after the summer break.
Photo: I-95, looking south at the bridge crossing the Rappahannock River.
