Traffic

Today, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) voted to postpone a final decision and not include the I‑495 Southside Express Lanes project in the current draft of the Visualize 2050 plan. Visualize 2050 is the region’s long‑range transportation blueprint, and projects must be incorporated in it to become eligible for federal funding and approval.

The I‑495 Southside Express Lanes (SEL) was first proposed in 2023 by the Virginia Department of Transportation and would extend express lanes roughly 11 miles from the Springfield Interchange in Fairfax County, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, to the MD 210 interchange in Prince George’s County. ([Virginia Department of Transportation][1])

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has activated new pedestrian crosswalks at four intersections along Route 3 (Plank Road) in Spotsylvania County, between Salem Church Road and Gordon Road. The upgrades are part of VDOT’s Statewide Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, aimed at reducing pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

Crosswalks and signal equipment were added at Gordon Road, Chancellors Village Lane/Single Oak Road, Old Plank Road/Five Mile Road Extended, and near the Salem Church Crossing and Chancellor Center shopping centers. Equipment is scheduled to go live overnight on October 15, with full functionality starting Friday, October 17. Pedestrians will now have a dedicated crossing phase, and new median refuge areas will allow them to cross in stages.

A motorcyclist died in a two-vehicle crash Friday night at the intersection of Route 29 and Old Alexandria Turnpike, according to Virginia State Police.

Julian O. Ferrufino Coronel, 30, of Remington, was riding a 2016 Ducati motorcycle south on Route 29 when a Toyota Camry pulled into his path from Old Alexandria Turnpike around 8:53 p.m. Ferrufino Coronel was wearing a helmet but died at the scene.