A mile-and-a-half-long section of Interstate 95, which handles 80,000 vehicle trips a day, will be expanded in Virginia. The project includes a new shoulder, lighting, and noise walls.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recently broke ground on the I-95 Southbound Auxiliary Lane project, intended to help ease a “notorious” bottleneck on the freeway near Occoquan, Virginia.
According to an article by Neal Augenstein, VDOT estimates that southbound I-95 averages approximately 80,000 vehicles a day in the area.
“The project will convert a mile-and-a-half of the existing shoulder to a travel lane,” reports Augenstein. “The project will provide a new lane of travel, between Va. Route 123 and Prince William Parkway.”
“VDOT added that the $23.7 million project also includes a new shoulder and relocated noise walls. Crews will also replace roadway lighting, install or upgrade guardrails and build new retaining walls,” adds Augenstein.
The project is one of numerous highway widening projects underway around the country, moving ahead despite the transportation sector’s role as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, as well as a growing body of evidence of the effects of induced demand limiting the congestion relief benefits of expanded roadways.
More details about the local political support for the project can be read at the source article below.
FULL STORY: One of the most notorious I-95 bottlenecks will soon get an extra lane
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