Route 2 Widening Project Proposed in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
There will be a public meeting on the project next week.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
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Some major changes are being proposed for a well-traveled road in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County.
State Route 2/17, which is Dixon Street in Fredericksburg and Tidewater Trail in Spotsylvania County, would be widened to four lanes for slightly more than a mile, starting from where the four lanes end now at Howison Avenue and extending all the way to Imboden Street south of Shannon Airport in Spotsylvania County.
The $70.6 million project is being designed to relieve traffic congestion in that area. It would start in 2029 and take a minimum of 16 to 24 months to build.
The Virginia Department of Transportation’s plans would include the removal of at least two residences and two businesses along that stretch of road.
Dixon Street carries about 28,000 vehicles a day, but that number drops to 24,000 once it turns into Tidewater Trail.
Included in the project would be a 10-foot-wide shared use path along the eastern side of the roadway; a crosswalk and pedestrian crossing signal equipment at the Shannon Park Drive and the Mansfield Street intersection; and improvements at the intersection with Lansdowne Road near the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds.
The bus stop at Dixon Park would also be improved and bus facilities would be added near Shannon Airport to feed the Amtrak/Virginia Railway Express station in Fredericksburg, as well as the Bowman Center.
The project is being financed by SMART SCALE money applied for by both Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County.
VDOT will be holding a meeting on July 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Elks Lodge at 11309 11309 Tidewater Trail where the plan will be detailed.
View more details of the project and provide comment or take a survey here. Public comment will be accepted through August 2.
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