January-February 2007, Vol. 73, No. 1

News Briefs

Toll violation notices now being sent

After extensive testing, VDOT’s new statewide toll violation-enforcement system is fully operational. Cameras are taking photos of toll violators on the Powhite Parkway Extension in the Richmond area, the Dulles Toll Road in Northern Virginia and the Coleman Bridge in Hampton Roads. Notices are now being sent to violators. Because of this new enforcement measure, Smart Tag/E-ZPass users will be able to move more quickly through the tolls. Toll booth gates will no longer be needed in electronic toll lanes except where necessary for safety reasons.

For details, go to http://www.virginiadot.org/news/newsrelease.asp?ID=CO-072

Markings enhanced for older drivers

Sorry, but it’s not your eyesight that’s improving. It’s the signs, signals and pavement markings that are being enhanced. With 13 percent of licensed drivers in Virginia in the 65-and-older age group, VDOT is using several visual-aid improvements to help senior motorists. They include:

Traffic signs—Improved lettering and more highly reflective guide signs are being used as are more overhead and ground-mounted street name signs at intersections with signals. Highly visible yellow-green fluorescent signs are being installed for pedestrian, school and bicycle crossings.
Pavement markings—Six-inch-wide markings are being used on interstates and other high-volume roads instead of four-inch-wide ones.
Horizontal signs—Interstate shields are being painted on the pavement to help better guide motorists.

Study set for Coalfields project

VDOT and two private-sector partners, Pioneer Group Inc. and Alpha Natural Resources LLC, have agreed to perform a limited feasibility study for the Coalfields Expressway project.

The Southwest Virginia natural resource companies will evaluate possible highway alignments that consider areas of marketable coal reserves controlled by the companies. The techniques used to recover this coal could significantly lower the cost of building the expressway, reducing the amount of public funds needed to develop the project. The completed study should be submitted to VDOT this summer.

The Coalfields Expressway (U.S. Route 121) is a proposed four-lane highway stretching 51 miles from Pound in Wise County through Dickenson and Buchanan counties to the West Virginia line. Read more:http://www.virginiadot.org/news/newsrelease.asp?ID=BRIS-coalexps

VDOT Awarded $1.15 million for bridge research

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has awarded VDOT $1.15 million under FHWA's Innovative Bridge Research and Construction (IBRC) program to use innovative materials on three new Virginia bridges. Virginia is the only state to receive more than $1 million from this program in 2006.

VDOT’s Transportation Research Council will use the money toward replacement or building of new bridges on Route 1302 on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, Route 65 over Staunton Creek in Scott County, and Route 28 in Bristow. Read more: http://vtrc.virginiadot.org/BriefDetails.aspx?Id=23

Dulles Toll Road agreements signed

At the end of 2006, VDOT signed the first of several agreements that will transfer responsibilities for the Dulles Toll Road to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The agreements are the first in a series of steps required for the Dulles Metrorail Project to be financed and built by the authority.

VDOT will continue to operate and maintain the toll road until a federal full-funding grant agreement for the Metrorail project is executed this fall. The next major milestone will be for the Federal Transit Administration to approve final design for Phase 1 of the Metrorail project in April 2007. Read more:http://www.virginiadot.org/news/newsrelease.asp?ID=NOVA-NR06-53

I-73 impact statement progresses

VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) signed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Interstate 73 on Dec. 1.

FHWA is reviewing the document for a possible Record of Decision, which could come by March. Once a Record of Decision has been issued, work can begin to design the roadway, depending on the availability of funding. A Record of Decision is the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act process that includes public involvement and considers possible environmental impacts of transportation projects. Read more: http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/I73/i73-FEIS.asp

Millionth car takes Jamestown Ferry

For the first time in 81 years, the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry carried more than 1 million cars in a calendar year in 2006. The ferry offers a free, 20-minute, scenic cruise along Virginia’s historic James River as it crosses between Jamestown on the peninsula and the Scotland Wharf on the southwest side of South Hampton Roads. Read more: http://www.virginiadot.org/news/newsrelease.asp?ID=HRO-0664

Page last modified: Feb. 2, 2007