Virginia DOT Warns of Long Delays on I-95 Next Week

The Virginia Department of Transportation issued a notice that it will detour nighttime traffic on I-95 in Stafford County, just north of Fredericksburg

, on Monday and Tuesday nights to remove the old Route 627 Bridge over the interstate. The detour will cause significant delays of at least 45 minutes. The American Trucking Assn. forwarded the Virginia press release to the association’s press contacts.
According to VDOT, construction will continue Wednesday night, with one lane closed in each direction. There will be no detour Wednesday night, but there will be delays.
The VDOT announcement included these details:
• Monday night, Feb. 28, I-95 southbound will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. All southbound traffic will be detoured to southbound Route 1 at Exit 140 (Route 630/Stafford). Southbound delays will run from 45 to 90 minutes, barring major incidents. The length of the detour is 10 miles
• Similarly, on Tuesday night, March 1, I-95 northbound will be closed from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. All northbound traffic will be detoured for 10 miles to northbound Route 1 at Exit 133 (Route 17/Falmouth). Again, delays will run from 45 to 90 minutes
• Wednesday night, March 2, one lane will be closed on both northbound and southbound I-95 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The northbound lane will re-open at 4:30 a.m.
The notice said that raffic will be stopped for 10- to 15-minute intervals beginning at 10 p.m. Crews will monitor traffic flow to prevent major delays.
Motorists can also use Route 301 as an alternate route if their destination is north of the Fredericksburg region.
VDOT will use electronic message boards and Highway Advisory Radio to alert motorists of the I-95 detour and lane closures. The agency will also adjust traffic light timing on Route 1 so that traffic moves through the detour as efficiently as possible. The detour route is a four-lane roadway (two lanes in each direction) that has three traffic signals, with a signal located at the Route 630 ramp.
The project was originally scheduled to begin Feb. 14, but VDOT and its contractor; Moore Brothers Co., Inc. developed a better work plan that reduces the work from six to three nights.
For more information, go to www.VirginiaDOT.org. Click on the yellow bar on the home page for links to the detour map and project information. A direct link to the detour map is http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/news/i-95Detour.asp