The Fredericksburg region's transportation committee adopted a new study that looked at putting a new bridge over the Rappahannock River this week.
The study's goal was to find a solution to the congestion in the Fredericksburg region which causes backups down the interstate. In this case, it would be a new bridge over the Rappahannock River, west of Interstate 95 in Virginia.
On the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's (FAMPO) Monday night meeting, the Policy Committee adopted the study as part of the consent agenda. Despite not being discussed, it's been a hot transportation topic since December.
In May, the policy committee held a public hearing on the study. The committee voted to open a 30-day public comment period in order to move the study into a federal phase called the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Stafford County and Fredericksburg officials, who requested the crossing study late last year, voted to adopt the study and the $685,000 to fund it.
Spotsylvania County officials do not support the crossing study, with two representatives on the FAMPO committee voting against adopting the study and the funding.
The crossing study’s summary says FAMPO and other regional and state officials have tried over the years to solve two of the area’s transportation challenges: congestion spawned by “the fastest growing region in Virginia by regional population” and barriers blocking development of a typical interconnected grid system of roads between Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and Stafford.
According to the study, two factors block the path to building a road grid system: I-95 and the Rappahannock River “factor into all regional transportation planning efforts.”
Out of five options, the study identifies four of them building a bridge over the river, carrying the span from the area of the U.S. 17/I–95 interchange in Stafford to Celebrate Virginia in Fredericksburg.
The estimated cost of the project ranges from $25 million to $221.4 million.
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Source: Fredericksburg.com
