VDOT: The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and its contractor will begin building an intersection improvement project at Lee Hill School Drive and Old Dominion Parkway in Spotsylvania County on Monday, April 29. The intersection is just over a mile from Lee’s Hill Golf Club.
The project will transform the existing four-way intersection into a mini roundabout. Additional lighting at the intersection will be installed as part of the project.
The project cost is approximately $845,172. The federal Highway Safety Improvement Program is funding the project. The project contractor is M & F Concrete.
The contractor will start by mobilizing and placing work zone signs on Monday. During construction, travelers at the intersection can expect lane closures and periodic traffic control directed by a flagging crew. The project is scheduled to be completed by early November 2024.
Passenger vehicles will be able to pass through the intersection during construction.
Tractor-trailers, oversized vehicles, small trucks, school buses, and emergency response vehicles will be detoured for short durations to allow concrete to cure for median islands and the mini roundabout’s center island. Message boards will be posted in advance to notify travelers of scheduled detour dates.
Before construction is complete, traffic will begin traveling through the intersection in a roundabout traffic pattern. Crews will install temporary signs and pavement markings to guide travelers through the new pattern. The final construction phase will consist of pouring the concrete and allowing it to cure for median islands and the mini roundabout’s center island.
Mini roundabouts are circular intersections where all traffic moves in a counter-clockwise direction around a center island. Traffic entering the mini roundabout slows down and yields to traffic already inside. By controlling traffic with yield signs instead of traffic signals, there are fewer stops for travelers and reduced delays.
Mini roundabouts operate the same way as a traditional roundabout, but have a smaller diameter and are often installed in residential areas. Their paved central islands are able to be driven over by trucks and other large vehicles when necessary.
Watch a video on mini roundabouts and visit VDOT’s Innovative Intersections page to learn more about this design, which is intended to reduce the number of points where vehicles can cross paths, resulting in right-angle and head-on crashes.
Visit the online project page to learn more and view the project design.
