In Design: Rockingham – Route 11 (South Valley Pike) and Route 704 (Cecil Wampler Road) Highway and Intersection Improvements

The Route 11 (South Valley Pike) project consists of widening Route 11 from two lanes to a four-lane divided highway. The project extends from 0.1 mile south of the Route 704 East intersection to 0.1 mile south of the Route 704 East intersection to Heritage Drive. In 2015 Route 11 had an average daily traffic count of 12,000 vehicles per day. By the design year of 2042 the estimated average daily traffic volume is 16,500 vehicles per day. The total estimated cost for the Route 11 project is $20.1 million, including $2.5 million for preliminary engineering, $6.6 million for right of way and $10.9 million for construction.

Route 11 will be widened on its western side utilizing as much of the existing roadway as possible. Four-foot paved shoulders will be included in the widening to accommodate bicycles along the corridor. The proposed median will vary in width. Narrow median areas will have a raised median including curbs. Wide median areas will be graded with a ditch.

An innovative intersection design known as a Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) is being proposed at two crossovers within the project. The RCUT is an intersection design where all side street movements begin with a right turn. Side street left turn and thru vehicles turn right and make a U-turn at a dedicated downstream median with an accompanying bulb-out to facilitate the desired movement. By limiting crossing conflicts, RCUTs improve overall safety and increase efficiency for the mainline roadway. The benefits of RCUT intersections include:

• Improved safety: Reduces the number of conflict points where vehicles cross paths and eliminates the potential for head-on crashes
• Increased efficiency: Each direction of the major street can operate independently, creating two one-way streets and increasing the overall intersection capacity
• Shorter wait times: Fewer traffic signal phases means less stopping for arterial vehicles and allowing only right turns from side streets means less waiting
• Cost-effective: An RCUT can be more cost effective than adding lanes to improve capacity 

This proposed design featuring one RCUT uses adjacent medians opening and bulb-outs for the RCUT.  For comparison, an alternate design is also shown using a traditional intersection with left-turn movements but without the adjacent median openings and bulb-outs.

More information on RCUT intersections can be found on VDOT’s innovative intersections website: http://www.virginiadot.org/info/alternative_intersection_informational_design_guides.asp

The Route 704 (Cecil Wampler Road) project will construct two new right turn lanes and rebuild an existing signal at the intersection of Cecil Wampler Road and Route 11. The first right turn lane will be constructed on Eastbound Route 704 (Oakwood Drive) to Southbound Route 11. The second right turn lane will be constructed on Northbound Route 11 to Eastbound Route 704 (Cecil Wampler Road). The addition of these new turn lanes will decrease total delay times at both existing intersections.

In 2015 Route 704 had an average daily traffic count of 3,900 vehicles per day. By the design year of 2042 the estimated average daily traffic volume is 7,000 vehicles per day. The total estimated cost for the Route 704 is $3.5 million, including $435,090 for preliminary engineering, $425,168 for right of way and $2.6 million for construction.

Both the Route 11 and Route 704 projects received funding under the Smart Scale program.

Benefits 

The project will improve traffic flow and safety by providing by widening Route 11 and utilizing a Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) design. 

Major Milestones 

Project plan approval  Fall 2019
Right of Way Fall 2019
Construction advertisement  Fall 2023