Your Opinion Needed on New Bridge Across the Rappahannock River
Friday is the deadline for filling out the survey about the new Rappahannock River crossing. Details and a map of the plans follow.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
Individuals have until Friday, January 3, 2025, to tell local planners what they think about several routes proposed for a new bridge across the Rappahannock River between Fredericksburg and Stafford County.
As the Advance reported in September, the study has recommended five options for the bridge and connecting roads that could cost between $200 million and $300 million, and take eight to 10 years to design, finance, and complete.
Ian Ollis, from the Fredericksburg Metropolitan Area Planning Organization, says it is important to note that all five options would connect to existing roads on both sides of the river, something he says may have been missed by the public.
When one new road called the Enon Connector is added in Stafford, it would allow local motorists to travel directly from U.S Route 3 in Fredericksburg all the way to Courthouse Road in Garrisonville, without using either U.S. Route 1 or I-95. Both can be heavily congested now in rush hour.
The Enon Connector is a separate project that includes a traffic circle and would connect Plantation Drive to Centerport Parkway. With land acquisition it is estimated to cost $50 million. That money will come from the state’s Smart Scale program.
The new bridge would not touch Spotsylvania County directly but could help alleviate some of the heavier traffic going eastbound on U.S. Route 3.
The money for the bridge project and land acquisition to connect to existing roads is expected to come from several sources including federal, state, and local governments.
Here are the five options for the bridge route (see Map):
On the Fredericksburg side, four of the five options would connect to Gordon Shelton Boulevard in one of several possible spots. That roadway has often been called the road to nowhere because almost a mile of it is adjacent to vacant lots and it ends abruptly now at the Rappahannock River. The fifth option would connect directly to Carl D. Silver Parkway between the Sheetz gas station and Wegmans Supermarket.
On the Stafford County side, all the options feed into Commerce Parkway which crosses U.S. 17. Ollis says the idea is to connect the bridge, through existing road and the Mine Road extension, to Courthouse Road in Garrisonville.
Two of the options to cross the river would connect directly to the Celebrate Virginia Parkway. Another one would connect via Greenbank Road and a fourth by a totally new road, as yet unnamed.
The entire project was initiated more than two years ago at the request of both Stafford County and the City of Fredericksburg.
Ollis says cost estimates are currently so hard to predict that the state of Virginia has added a 40% contingency sum to all projects.
It is not the first attempt to cross the Rappahannock west of I-95. Several proposals to build a bridge across the river further west along U.S. 3 failed in the 1990s because of opposition in Spotsylvania County.
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Connecting the Population Centers to the Destination, Recreation, Medical and Work Centers with the shortest possible Routes is Smart Planning. It will provide a high time saving factor. If the average Driver can save 3 miles of driving for 40,000 cars per day it will massively reduce driving and Air Pollution in our Region by 120,000 miles per day, while reducing congestion on our existing Roads. The study is estimating a 200,000 mile reduction in driving in 2050 if the new road and river crossing is built.
Maximizing the Use of over $100 M of Underutilized Infrastructure gives us more Bang for the Buck to get us out of Gridlock. Improving Fire and Rescue and Transport Times in Many parts of Stafford to avoid the Falmouth Intersection can't be overstated.
Building the New Bridge to provide an Alternate Route before the Falmouth Bridge Reconstruction needs to be looked at. Ambulances use the Falmouth bridge on a Daily Basis. We have to mitigate the impact of the Falmouth Bridge reconstruction, before Construction Starts.
Building a Road with a Trail Network that can be Utilized as the East Coast Greenway Trail will promote Tourism and Economic development. The Trail keeps up with the future Demand of electric Bikes, Scooters and Wheel Chairs.
Building the road and trail network in conjunction with the FRED Bus service, so as they complement and enhance each other Checks off two FAMPO Goals
Goal# 5: Plan for and establish a multi-modal transportation system that supports the economic vitality of the region.
Goal 6: Provide multi-modal transportation options that enhance the quality of life and improve mobility for vulnerable groups such as, minority, low-income, seniors, and limited mobility groups.
The new road should include bus stop lanes next to the trail and bike racks.
Your map only shows 4 options and doesn't identify Options B-2.
Option B-2 is the best River Crossing Option for the following reasons:
1. Least direct impact to private property, only two landowners directly impacted (City of Fredericksburg and the Silver Company).
2. Least environmental impacts to Resource Protection Areas.
3. Shorter connection with the least clearing and Enviromental footprint.
4. Option B-2 has the highest traffic demand and timesaving factor of 55.3%, which cuts travel time in half to get thousands of cars off the road quicker cutting back on air pollution.
5. Both B Options cost millions less than Option A.
6. Option B has no impact on the Waterfall.
7. Option B is far enough from I-95 where the traffic noise will not impact the serenity on the bridge trail overlook. There would also be more scenic views without having to look at and hear I-95.
8. The long bridge span B-2 has a much smaller footprint and has much less Enviromental damage to the RPA than the many culverts and Stream disturbances of option A.
9. Option B-2 is about 1/8 of a mile shorter than option B-1.
The projected traffic counts for 2050 are 40,000 trips per day.
A 1/8-mile reduction of 40,000 trips is a reduction in miles driven of 5,000 miles per day, which will significantly reduce air pollution.
10. A longer bridge will allow the runoff to be controlled for greater distances to be channeled to more environmentally friendly locations for containment and treatment before it reaches the river.
11. Option B maximizes the use of over $100 M in existing infrastructure and will have better traffic flow than the other options. The many connections to Route 17 and the Celebrate Virginia transportation grid will diffuse traffic congestion.
12. Option B-2 will improve Fire and Rescue Response and Transport times in some areas of Stafford, especially in the Del Webb Senior Community.
The study shows driving from the Del Webb Senior Community to Mary Washington Hospital currently takes 30 minutes, but with option B-2 it would take 10.2 minutes to transport to Mary Washington Hospital. That's a reduction of about 20 minutes of transport time. Reducing 20 minutes off the time our ambulances are out of service. Putting our ambulances back in service 20 minutes quicker can't be overstated.
It will take 10 years until the bridge is built. The seniors will be older and might want to live 20 minutes closer to the hospital. I'm sure family members will appreciate saving an extra 20 minutes each way to the hospital. Stafford has a high transient rate of about 11% to 14%. In 10 years, most will not be here.
13. Establishing a Regional Park will mitigate the impacts to the conservation easements, providing more recreational opportunities, protecting open space and showcasing dozens of historic sites.
14. The river crossing at option A would put the parking too close to the waterfall. I believe the parking should be around 2 miles away, so that people will not bring as much trash. Having the parking too close would trash the area around the waterfall. The runoff from option A would also negatively impact the waterfall.
15. The study shows Option B-2 has the highest amount of Traffic reduction at the Falmouth Intersection. Projected to reduce traffic on Route 1 by 12.3% compared to the No Build option.