Transportation Updates from the Catoctin District

Monday, March 18, 2013

Transportation Updates from the Catoctin District

Here's a transportation update from Catoctin Supervisor Geary Higgins' March newsletter:

Route 287 and Route 7 Bypass: On February 20, I voted with my colleagues to extend the right turn lane on southbound Route 287 from its intersection at the Route 7 Bypass off-ramp all the way to the intersection of Hirst Road, and to add a second left turn lane to the westbound 7 Bypass off-ramp. This will help alleviate the backup that often ends into a traffic standstill on the westbound Route 7 Bypass. One of the left turn lanes would also be a through lane to get back on to the westbound Route 7 Bypass.

The Woods Road: Preliminary design plans were received by VDOT on January 22^nd. They plan to reconvene a meeting of the Steering Committee to review the draft plans. The bottom line is, if the 2014 Revenue Sharing application is approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the project will be fully funded and construction planning should begin.

Sands and Taylor Road – These two paving projects are fully funded and were advertised in November 2012. Bids were scheduled to be opened on January 23, 2013. The current estimate for completion is some time in 2013. VDOT is in the process of scheduling “Pardon our Dust” meetings to inform affected communities what to expect during the construction phase. Please contact me or my staff if you wish to be kept up on this.

Riverside Parkway: Riverside Parkway widening work has been moved back and should begin in July rather than the spring. The River Creek Parkway sidewalk/trail will begin construction sometime after the final plan submission in the fall and has been moved to the west side of the road.

Route 15 – Excessive Truck Use: On March 12 my office toured Route 15 with Supervisor Reid and DMV to review excessive truck use on US 15 between Point of Rocks and Gilbert's Corner to assess the need for a weigh station or additional enforcement.