The Virginia Department of Transportation will give drivers their own Christmas gift this year: the suspension of most lane closures and opening the HOV lanes to all traffic.
Lane closures will not in place starting noon Friday through noon Tuesday, Dec. 27, and again from noon Dec. 30 until Tuesday, Jan. 3 for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weekends.
Tourism officials and the Virginia Department of Transportation entered into an agreement that would allow the county to place several blue signs, large signs on major roads and small ones on by ways, featuring the county’s logo and a depiction of a young George Washington.
Of the large, or monument, signs that will be placed at major gateways into the county such as Interstate 95 and at the Fredericksburg line, they will now stand on two large posts and not stone bases as was originally planned. The changes were requested by VDOT in fears the stone bases could be hazardous to motorists in the event of a crash.
North Stafford, Va. — Virginia Department of Transportation officials were out Wednesday night at Moncure Elementary School in North Stafford to answer questions about the expansion of the Staffordboro Commuter Lot off Va. 610.
Transportation officials plan to add an additional 1,000 parking spaces at the site in preparation for High Occupancy Toll lanes that will be built as part of the I-95 HOT lanes project. Construction on the lanes could begin as early as next spring.
Starting Monday, drivers in the Potomac Communities who use Interstate 95 and 395 will see signs displaying travel times on the highway.
Electronic signs in seven spots along the highway between Dumfries and the Pentagon, like the first one that will be placed at I-95 and Va. 234 noting the time and distance it will take drivers to get to the Capital Beltway based on current traffic conditions, will be used to better inform drivers as they travel.
North Stafford, Va. — Transportation officials want to add 1,000 new spaces to a commuter parking lot in North Stafford, and they want to know what you think about the idea.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a design public hearing from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, about the $9.7 million that would expand the Staffordboro commuter lot off Va. 610. The project would also improve traffic flow on Staffordboro Boulevard and Juggins Road by adding left and right turn lanes on Staffordboro Boulevard and a roundabout on Juggins Road, according to VDOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon.
Virginia transportation officials for the first time Tuesday announced the price tag for the proposed High Occupancy Toll lanes on Interstate 95, and said they’re close to a deal to begin construction.
The lanes are expected to cost taxpayers $97 million, and the private firm that will construct and operate the lanes, Fluor-Transurban, $843 million. While all of the workings of a final public-private transportation contract are in place, the state and the private firm have yet to sign the deal but say it, along with the first phases of construction, could begin as early as spring.
Update 5 p.m.
The driver of the logging truck that crashed on Interstate 95 this afternoon was not injured, but crews are still working to clean up the mess.
A tractor trailer loaded with logs crashed on I-95 south prior to Exit 130, Va. 3, just after 3 p.m., said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
Virginia Railway Express announced today its trains have been arriving on time more this year than any previous year in the system’s 19-year-history.
VRE’s on time train rate has been clocked at 92.6 percent between the months of January and November 2011, breaking the previous 89.9 percent on time record set in 2009.
The Virginia Department of Transportation sponsors the patrols which help stranded drivers with tire changes, jump starting cars, water for overheating radiators, and can give up to one gallon of gas for those who’ve run out of fuel.
The marked VDOT trucks also assist emergency responders with managing traffic congestion when incidents occur, said VDOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon.
What do you get with 91,000 tons of sand and 307,000 tons of salt? Those materials will help to clear roads after a winter storm passes this season, transportation officials said.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said today they’re ready for harsh winter weather, with a $126 million budget to treat and plow roads in the event of a storm. The budget is $20 million more than last year’s, officials said.
