Fewer Big Trucks on the Road in Virginia?
A new study examines impact of trains on truck traffic, and Hank looks at coming road projects in the region.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
Does it look like there are fewer big rigs on the road these days?
According to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the investment the state has made to improve freight rail service across the Commonwealth over the last decade diverted 16,234,884 truckloads from the highways in 2024, up from 15,054,707 in 2023.
An increase in freight cars is the reason. According to DRPT, each rail car added to a train takes 3.4 truckloads off the road, and in 2024 more than 4.7 million rail cars were added to trains along Virginia’s 3,000 miles of active freight train track.
In a news release, DRPT attributed the rise in freight cars to 37 upgrade projects between 2006 and 2023. These projects cost $124 million in state money, plus additional support from private company donations.
DRPT said that these upgrades helped improve transportation efficiency and reduced the wear and tear on highways as well as lowering maintenance costs.
Virginia’s Transportation Secretary Shep Miller said “freight rail is essential to Virginia’s economy, and this new data proves that our investments are making a measurable difference.”
The figures include the two large freight railroads running through the state, CSX and Norfolk Southern, along with nine smaller freight railroads that connect local industries to the main lines in various parts of Virginia.
CSX is the main freight line through Fredericksburg and surrounding counties, but DRPT indicates none of those improvement projects were in the Fredericksburg region.
The DPRT could not clarify for The Advance if more freight cars meant more individual freight trains passing through or simply longer trains in general traveling through the region.
The improvements, which have led to increased use of freight trains for moving goods, include railroad equipment, right of ways, rail facilities and design.
Virginia’s current six-year railroad improvement plan includes another $8.8 million in FY 26, and $11.1 million more between 2027 and 2031 specifically targeted for freight traffic.
In Other News for Local Roads
The Virginia Department of Transportation is warning motorists that Harrison Road between Gordon Road and Old Plank Road in Spotsylvania County, will be shut down for two nights next week – Tuesday, August 19, into Wednesday morning, and Wednesday night August 20 into Thursday morning. Both closures are between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Construction crews will be installing a water line across Harrison Road as part of the ongoing $11.2 million project to widen Harrison road to improve the traffic flow in that vicinity. The intersection at Harrison Road and Old Plank Road will remain open.
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