VDOT News - Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The public is invited to attend a design public hearing on Tuesday, May 7, to learn more about a project to improve several locations along Route 17 at Tappahannock in Essex County.

The design public hearing will be held:

Tuesday, May 7

5-7 p.m.

Tappahannock Municipal Building

915 Church Lane

Tappahannock, VA 22560

The project seeks to improve safety and efficiency at several locations on Route 17:

• Route 17 and Route 360 (Queen Street) intersection

The existing pavement at the intersection will be reconfigured to increase the right turn radius from Queen Street to westbound Church Lane. The entrances to the Essex County parking lot will be reconstructed to reduce eastbound traffic queueing. Also, the pedestrian crossing will be relocated and rebuilt with handicapped-accessible curb ramps.

• Route 17 and Route 725 (Winston Road) intersection

This crossover will be converted to eliminate left turns from Winston Road onto Route 17 southbound. A median island will be built in the crossover, and the existing curb will be modified to improve the alignment and position for turning traffic.

• Route 17 northbound and southbound shoulder improvements between Route 1030 (Granary Road) and Route 698

To enhance pedestrian and bicycle travel along the Route 17 corridor, the existing graded shoulder will be paved for 3,500 feet along Route 17 northbound and 2,500 feet of Route 17 southbound.

Stop by anytime between 5-7 p.m. at the public hearing to review displays, proposed plans, and discuss questions with Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff. No formal presentation will be given at the public hearing.

Comments will be accepted at the public hearing and afterward through May 18, 2019.

Comments may also be submitted by mailing them to Ms. Gina Pelchat, VDOT Project Manager, 87 Deacon Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22405.

Comments may be emailed to fred.comments@VDOT.Virginia.Gov. Please reference “Route 17 Improvements” in the subject line.

Meeting materials will be posted online at the project page on www.VirginiaDOT.org on May 7.

Project Background

Essex County submitted an application to build this $1 million project through Virginia’s SMART SCALE transportation funding program.

SMART SCALE was established to choose the right transportation projects for funding and ensure the best use of limited tax dollars. Potential projects that have been determined to meet a need identified in VTrans – the state’s long-range multi-modal transportation plan – are scored based on safety, congestion, accessibility, land use, economic development and the environment.

Once projects are scored and prioritized, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has the best information possible to select projects for funding.

To view how funded SMART SCALE projects are advancing toward construction, visit the SMART SCALE Dashboard: http://dashboard.vasmartscale.org.

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VDOT’s 14-county Fredericksburg District includes the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford in the Fredericksburg area; Northumberland, Richmond, Lancaster and Westmoreland counties in the Northern Neck; Essex, Gloucester, King & Queen, King William, Mathews and Middlesex counties in the Middle Peninsula.

Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.