The Virginia Department of Transportation is unplugging two major bottlenecks in Prince William County this weekend with the opening of a two-lane ramp at the Interstate 66/Route 29 interchange in Gainesville, and two new lanes on Route 28 in Bristow.

Beginning at about 5 p.m. today, Gainesville motorists will see a major improvement on Route 29 with the opening of a two-lane, mile-long ramp from Route 29 North to I-66 East. The ramp merges into a recently widened section of I-66.

“The commute is going to immensely improve for the thousands of commuters who now crawl through Gainesville during the morning rush hours,” said Assistant District Engineer Helen Cuervo. “This is a major milestone for the project.”

The ramp is part of the $155 million I-66 widening project, which includes widening the interstate to eight lanes and adding new ramps at the I-66/Route 29 interchange.

The entire project will be completed in 2010.

The bridge over Route 28 at Broad Run has been replaced with a new four-lane bridge that is wide enough to be striped for six lanes in the future.

The mile-long widening from two lanes to four lanes south of Residency Road is being completed six months ahead of schedule and under budget.

Construction on the $16 million project started in spring 2006.

Route 28 carries about 45,000 vehicles a day and is a major commuter route for Fauquier and Prince William county motorists.

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Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.

Page last modified: Jan. 17, 2008