Thursday, September 29, 2011

Route 50 Widening Project to Start Next Week

According to a VDOT press release, construction begins next week to widen Route 50 from four to six lanes between Poland Road in Loudoun County and Route 28 in Fairfax County. The 3.7-mile design-build project will take three years to complete.

Motorists will begin seeing construction equipment and work crews on Oct. 5, weather permitting. Through next spring, crews will be working only on westbound Route 50, restriping pavement and shifting lanes to make room for construction.

There will be no lane closures on holidays or during rush hours, but motorists can expect lane closures overnight and mid-day. During all other times, all lanes and turn lanes will remain open.

Route 50 narrows from six lanes to four just west of Route 28. Increased development and congestion in Loudoun County creates backups during much of the day on the existing four-lane segment, especially during morning and evening rush hours.

When completed, traffic-clogged Route 50 will have three lanes in each direction, improved turn lanes and traffic signals, curb and gutter on the outside lanes, crosswalks and pedestrian signals, widened and upgraded bridges, and pathways on both sides of the road. The road will also be more level and provide wider buffers between travel lanes and roadside hazards.

The $100 million improvement project includes $8.3 million for preliminary engineering, $24.5 million for right of way acquisition, $9.9 million for utility relocation and $57.2 million for construction.

Shirley Contracting is the contractor for the design-build project.

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