RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates on Tuesday each passed bills prohibiting motorists from touching their cellphones while driving.
The Senate approved SB 1341 on a vote of 34-6, and the House passed HB 1811, 69-27. The bills would explicitly ban using a hand-held communication device, unless it is in hands-free mode, while operating a vehicle.
RICHMOND — An anti-tolling bill has unanimously passed the transportation subcommittee in the Virginia House of Delegates.
House Bill 2527 was presented by Tim Hugo (R-40, Fairfax, Prince William). If the bill were to become law, it would prevent localities from imposing tolls on Prince William and Fairfax County parkways without the approval of the General Assembly.
STAFFORD — The slated improvements to Juggins Road in North Stafford is one of the county’s most important road projects.
Juggins Road is the main thoroughfare that will carry hundreds of students, and teachers to a new Anne. E. Moncure Elementary that is slated to open this fall.
WOODBRIDGE — Before the Interstate 95 Express Lanes could be expanded to Fredericksburg, there was this little thing known affectionately as a “compensation event.”
That’s the term coined by state officials and Transurban, operators of the E-ZPass Express Lanes on I-95, 395, and 495, when they signed an agreement to build and maintain the lanes under former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.
WOODBRIDGE — Gov. Ralph Northam today announced multiple major transportation improvements in the region.
The first and most debated will the extension of the Interstate 95 southbound fourth lane from Route 123 at Occoquan to Prince William Parkway. Dubbed an auxiliary lane, the project will move south a bottleneck that occurs when the I-95 south travel lanes merge from four to three as drivers cross the Occoquan River from Fairfax into Prince William County.
RICHMOND – (Virginia State Police Press Release) The Virginia State Police Safety Division is rolling out a newly-designed vehicle safety approval inspection sticker that now includes a traffic safety message.
Effective Jan. 1, 2019, all certified Virginia inspection stations began issuing the sticker which has been reduced from 2.75 inches in height to 2 inches and from 4 inches in length to 3 inches. The year of expiration is now permanently affixed to the right side of the sticker, with the only insert being the month of expiration. Even though the overall size has been reduced, the month has been enlarged to provide better visibility.
STAFFORD — In the effort to improve traffic flow northbound at Interstate 95 and Route 17, officials have two options.
The first design is VDOT’s “base” option which is within the project’s budget, which takes away the northeast ramp for traffic exiting I-95 north and entering Route 17 North. Getting rid of the loop essentially prevents traffic from slowing down as other drivers try to merge get on and off I-95 on the same stretch of road in the existing a collector-distributor lane.
RICHMOND — For Roxanne Gabel and Tabitha Clark, advocating for “hands-free driving” in Virginia is about more than statistics; it’s a family memorial effort.
In November 2017, Gabel’s 21-year-old daughter, Lakin Ashlyn, was killed in a traffic accident when she was using Snapchat on her phone while driving, Clark, the young woman’s cousin, said at a Wednesday press conference held by the group Drive Smart Virginia.
CULPEPER — (Press Release) Virginia State Police Trooper I.R. Ewing is investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash in Culpeper County. The crash occurred Jan. 16, 2019 at 6:10 p.m. on Route 29 at Route 674.
A tow truck pulled into the crossover from Route 674 to make a left turn to head south on Route 29. As it pulled into the median, the rear of the wrecker remained partially in the northbound travel lane and was struck from behind by a northbound 2010 Nissan Maxima. The impact of the crash caused the Nissan to cross through the median and then over both southbound lanes of traffic before coming to rest.
WOODBRIDGE — When it comes to winning state funding for local road projects, Prince William County struck out.
None of the nine projects the county submitted last summer for consideration for Virginia Smart Scale funding — from improving Route 28 to easing bottleneck congestion on Interstate 95 south at Route 123 at Occoquan — made the cut for the latest recommended third-round of project funding.
