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road work coming
Bragg Road widening starts in 30-60 days
Date published: 11/4/2008
By KELLY HANNON When State Route 3 is jammed with cars, local drivers turn onto Bragg Road and Fall Hill Avenue to avoid the chaos. This unofficial Fredericksburg--Spotsylvania connector road is also lined with homes, businesses and houses of worship. Altogether, the appeal of the road has increased traffic to 16, 634 vehicles a day. By 2030, that number will triple, carrying an estimated 48,000 vehicles a day. To prepare, construction begins in 30 to 60 days to widen Bragg Road and a small section of Fall Hill Avenue from two to four lanes. The widening will start slightly north of River Road in Fredericksburg and end at Route 3 in Spotsylvania, a distance just under a mile. The $6.4 million project has been in the planning stages for a decade. The Virginia Department of Transportation spent years designing it, consulting with land owners, buying property and moving utilities. Now, with all barriers gone, a wider Bragg Road will open in summer 2011. Henderson Construction Co. has been recommended to build the project, said David Stanley, administrator of VDOT's Fredericksburg Residency. Henderson, based in Stafford, is expected to sign VDOT's contracts in a few days, Stanley said. One lane of Bragg Road and Fall Hill Avenue will stay open in each direction during the project, said Scott Shropshire, VDOT area construction engineer. More specific information on traffic shifts and impacts will be available closer to the project's start date. Drivers will need to be alert for a work zone, but Stanley encouraged drivers who use Bragg Road and Fall Hill Avenue to keep their normal commute. "Continue with business as usual," Stanley said. The project will do more than add new lanes to Bragg Road and Fall Hill Avenue. A raised concrete median--a new safety feature--will separate northbound and southbound traffic. A 5-ft. sidewalk will line the western side of Bragg and Fall Hill. Two intersections will have new traffic signals. One signal will be installed at Bragg Road and Willis Way, just north of the Breezewood Shopping Center. The second new signal will control traffic at River Road and Bragg Road. On State Route 3 east, a second left turn lane will be added, allowing more traffic to access Bragg Road per signal cycle. A sound wall will be built on the northwest side of the intersection at Bragg and River roads. The wall will be made of "wood materials," according to VDOT, and will protect homes in Riverside Manor from noise. The wall will be 12-feet high. The new road design will limit traffic into the Spotsylvania Crossing shopping center, near Giant. When the project is finished, only right turns into and out of the parking lot will be allowed. Traffic headed north on Bragg Road will not be permitted to turn left into the Giant parking lot--and cars cannot turn left out of the Giant parking lot onto Bragg Road. The concrete median will block the way. Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Date published: 11/4/2008
Traffic Planning
(posted by
Grumpy1
, Nov. 4, 2008 7:47 am)
Interesting concept of Traffic planning going on by the exit from the parking lot at Giant. Does it make sense to funnel traffic leaving Giant towards one of the city's busiest intersections? Where is the logic in that, Homer Simpson? DOH!
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