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STATE BOARD GETS LESSON IN GRIDLOCK
Springfield Interchange party sours when hazardous materials leak on Interstate 95 in Stafford County
RELATED: Acid leak closes I-95
Date published: 7/19/2007 BY KELLY HANNON SPRINGFIELD--A party to celebrate the just-completed Springfield Interchange ended yesterday with news that, despite the $676 million improvements, there is still gridlock on Interstate 95. Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer approached the microphone after the U.S. Army band finished playing an upbeat tune. "On southbound Interstate 95, at Exit 140, all lanes are closed," Homer said, standing in the shadow of 50 new swirling and looping ramps and bridges at Springfield, where I--95 meets the Capital Beltway. "So if you're traveling southbound, you may want to wait a little bit for that traffic to clear." Unfortunately, Homer was heading southbound, along with a bus carrying members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board. To reach their planned meeting in Fredericksburg, the bus had to detour around the hazardous materials incident that closed all I-95 southbound lanes in Stafford County for four hours. To avoid the mess, CTB members and senior Virginia Department of Transportation officials took the Fairfax County Parkway to Interstate 66 to U.S. 29 to U.S. 17 and back to the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center. Total time on the road: An hour and 45 minutes. On a good day, the trip from Springfield to Fredericksburg takes about 45 minutes. The trip demonstrated the last-minute scramble endured that is familiar to Fredericksburg area residents and commuters. Mary Lee Carter, the Fredericksburg District representative on CTB and former Spotsylvania County supervisor, said the incident shows "95 will just not take care of all our needs in the area." Northern Virginia District representative Douglas Koelemay said the gridlock caused by the tractor-trailer leaking nitric acid shows how few alternatives drivers have when the East Coast's main street shuts down and U.S. 1 slows to a crawl. "That's our challenge to build redundancy into the system, because life is going to happen and accidents are going to happen," Koelemay said. CTB members took the stress of their roundabout commute in stride. They viewed a different set of projects in Northern Virginia and had a chance to see where U.S. 17 will be widened in Stafford. Members had planned to get an update on the addition of High Occupancy Toll lanes from Washington to Spotsylvania as they traveled I-95 south. The HOT lane proposal is the only planned expansion for the interstate in the Fredericksburg area. Work will begin soon to expand I-95 to four lanes, in each direction, from Newington to the Occoquan River. Traffic was flowing smoothly yesterday at the Springfield Interchange, which was finished on schedule and slightly under budget. Gov. Tim Kaine said the project is proof that massive projects can be undertaken and completed. "We owe it to Northern Virginians to invest in key projects to improve their quality of life," Kaine said. Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
Date published: 7/19/2007
RivaPops...
(posted by
jdsdad
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
If your talking about the outer connector? It was on the table about three ago and was shot down first by Fredericksburg and then Spotsy.
Make the snowbirds pay the tolls
(posted by
a50000
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
Why not make the outsiders (travelers) pay the tolls? Try driving on thier roads and see how much you'll pay. Wouldn't that boost the politicians budgets? That's what it's all about, right?
How Ironic
(posted by
1eviltwin
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
this is great they finally get to see what we all have been saying for years I95 is just not enough hov is just not enough..they should of stayed on 95 and seen the mix up it causes when hov lanes exit back in to the left lane just before quantico..its a mess they need to do something like a minimum of 5 lans coming and going from dc to richmond..they need to also realize this area is growing plan for the next 20 years
God loves us!
(posted by
homegrown
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
What unbelievably great timing!! (HOT lanes are NOT the answer)
And the next scam will be?
(posted by
RivaPops
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
Isn't it about time the East and West connector roads be brought back to the table. It's been 20 years since this plan was presented and the politicians certainly have had enough time to buy up enough land to make it worth their while. It may be too soon after all it only took 50 years to get the Rt 3 bypass built! If you want to get serious about interstate traffic, limit vehicles to two or more persons and half the traffic will vanish. Would be a lot of tax revenue lost through gas sales though. Think!
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