Work to widen Route 610 is actually ahead of June 2009 planned finish
What's going on with State Route 610?
Date published: 6/2/2008
Click here to submit an item to Getting There
By Kelly Hannon
IF YOU NEED to renew your driver's license after July 1 this year, or get your license for the first time, study hard for the knowledge exam. You will have just three chances to pass it.
If you fail on the third try, DMV will require you to take a knowledge exam at a private driver's school.
"An applicant who is unsuccessful passing the test three times needs further instruction to operate a vehicle safely," said D.B. Smit, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, in a news release. "This new law also ensures our employees will not spend time administering repeated tests to applicants who have not properly prepared or studied for the test."
Prepare before you go at dmv.virginia.gov by reading the online Virginia Driver's Manual, or take a sample online test.
Dear Kelly: Please explain what the problem is with finishing the State Route 610 improvements in Garrisonville. It seems the work zones have been there forever and nothing has changed except to make the road and lanes even more dangerous. What are the ultimate goals of the project?
--W.L. Homes, Fauquier, Stafford, Spotsylvania
The Virginia Department of Transportation is widening Route 610 to six lanes, three lanes in each direction, from Staffordborough Boulevard to Onville Road.
A concrete median will separate eastbound and westbound traffic, and a new signal will be added at Dunn Drive. (That's the Chick-fil-A turn, for people who drive past the landmark.)
A stronger road surface will withstand the average of 65,000 cars and trucks that travel Route 610 every day. To put that in perspective, an average of 72,000 cars a day travel Interstate 95 southbound through Stafford.
George Romack, VDOT's Fredericksburg District construction engineer, responded to your question.
"The Route 610 (Garrisonville Road) improvement project has a June 2009 finish date in the contract. We are pleased to report that the project is ahead of schedule, and could be completed by this summer," Romack wrote in an e-mail.
"The contractor has spent a great deal of time on this project working on the numerous underground utilities needing relocation, drainage structure modifications, and traffic signal installations. Much of this work has been outside the mainline on the shoulders and side streets.
Date published: 6/2/2008
Most recent reader comments:
Mis-information here?
(posted by
Dana1
, June 2, 2008 2:00 pm)  
Regarding the July 1 rule about renewing your drivers license and taking the test with only 3 tries to pass. I did not find that on the DMV website. What it DID say is if you are under 20 and you have had a violation you need to retake test again and have 3 tries to pass it. DMV actually renewing eligible driver's licenses for 8 years to avoid all the people having to come down to the DMV. Nothing about all renewals having to take the written test, only a vision test and new picture every other renewal.
|