The Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization last night pinpointed six "top priority" area road projects to emphasize on the state's next Six-Year Improvement Program.
Three of the projects are in Spotsylvania County and two in Stafford County.
The sixth item on the list includes both counties. The Interstate 95 HOT lanes project initially will cover Stafford, but the long-range plan includes adding the lanes to Spotsylvania.
FAMPO administrator Lloyd Robinson said the list is a way to tell the Commonwealth Transportation Board what FAMPO sees as the most important projects that are ready for action but still need funding.
The CTB is in the process of planning the 2013-18 blueprint. In June, the board approved the $10.6 billion plan covering 2012-17.
HOT lanes are, by far, the biggest of the projects. The 9-mile stretch in Stafford is just a portion of the overall $1 billion project.
The HOT lanes will be built in the median along I-95. The new lanes are aimed at increasing available high-occupancy vehicle lanes while also allowing single-occupant vehicles to use them by paying a toll.
Construction on the Stafford portion, which will stretch into Fairfax, could begin by 2012 and be completed by 2015. The plan calls for the lanes to eventually be extended into Spotsylvania.
The most expensive of the remaining area projects is a plan to replace the I-95 interchange on Courthouse Road in North Stafford.
Construction, which could start in 2014, will cost an estimated $129 million.
The other Stafford project on the list is the proposed widening of U.S. 1 from Telegraph Road to Prince William County. This would be part of other road projects in the works to handle impacts caused by BRAC, the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
The project is in the early stages and has no cost or time estimate.
In Spotsylvania, the biggest and most controversial project is the possible construction of an interchange toll road from the Interstate 95 rest area/welcome center to Gordon Road. The project is only in the planning and study phase, but FAMPO wants to make sure the $26.2 million budgeted for the "right-of-way phase" is available.
The proposed project, opposed by nearby residents and some members of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, would create a new exit at the rest area/welcome center and has an estimated cost of $304 million.
The exit would connect with the proposed four-lane Rappahannock Parkway. The parkway would run through Celebrate Virginia and continue west between State Route 3 and the Rappahannock River and tie in to State Route 3 at Gordon Road.
The parkway and interchange could carry a toll, but also could be free for high-occupancy vehicles. The plan has already gotten funds of $14.5 million for preliminary studies.
Another key Spotsylvania project on FAMPO's top-six list is the planned Virginia Railway Express station at the Crossroads Industrial Park off U.S. 17.
Construction of the VRE station would cost more than $2 million, but a third track also will have to be built at an estimated cost of $20 million.
The third Spotsylvania project is aimed at improving the intersection at U.S. 1 and Harrison Road, which is notorious for backing up during rush hour.
That project cost is tabbed at $3.6 million.
Scott Shenk: 540/374-5436
Email: sshenk@freelancestar.com
HOT Lanes. In Stafford, a 9-mile stretch of new lanes is planned; eventually they will be added in Spotsylvania.
Interstate 95 interchange on Courthouse Road in North Stafford.
U.S. 1 widening from Telegraph Road in Stafford to Prince William County.
Proposed interchange toll road project from the Interstate 95 rest area/welcome center to Gordon Road in Spotsylvania.
Construction of the Virginia Railway Express station at the Crossroads Industrial Park off U.S. 17 in Spotsylvania.
Intersection improvement project at U.S. 1 and Harrison Road in Spotsylvania.