BY SCOTT SHENK

Expect delays on State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County starting next week. On Monday, crews will begin temporarily shifting the westbound lanes in preparation to continue work on the $25.1 million widening project.

Workers will start building a raised asphalt median from Chewning Lane and Rutherford Drive west of Salem Church to Gordon Road as part of a temporary shift of traffic while the new westbound lanes are built, Spotsylvania spokeswoman Kathy Smith said in a news release.

The median and reflective highway markers will separate the eastbound lanes from the temporary westbound lanes.

All Route 3 lanes will remain open next week, except for brief periods, Smith said.

Numerous highway crossovers in the work zone will be closed during next week's work. But several will remain open: Chewning and Rutherford drives; Chancellor Village Lane and Single Oak Road; Kilarney Drive and Meadows Nursery; Old Plank Road and Five Mile Road Extended; and Gordon Road.

The temporary switchover of the westbound lanes to the former eastbound lanes should happen sometime the week of May 7.

If the project goes according to plan, construction of the new, expanded westbound lanes will be finished in December, Smith said in the release.

Until then, there will be occasional traffic pattern changes during the westbound lane work, which could cause delays.

The speed limit in the work zone remains 35 mph.

The project will widen from four to six lanes a 1.2-mile stretch of Route 3 from Chewning Lane and Rutherford Drive to Gordon Road.

Since the work started in October 2010, the project has been plagued by everything from funding issues to stop-work orders over utility and communication line cuts to controversies over its design.

The work was originally scheduled to be completed by July 24.

David Henderson Jr., president of project contractor Henderson Construction Co., said recently that if all goes well they could finish the project by March or April next year.

Spotsylvania is overseeing the project, which is federally funded, meaning it has to follow regulations by the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Scott Shenk: 540/374-5436
Email: sshenk@freelancestar.com