Where is the worst traffic in America? No, you’re quite wrong… it’s Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Anyone who has traveled north or south of Stafford County has witnessed or even been a part of miles-long traffic jams where the only thing one can do is to stare at the North Dakota license plate on the tractor-trailer in front of them or poke fun at political bumper stickers on the back of the Prius in the next lane over. Though, wouldn’t the “405” west of L.A. or the George Washington Bridge going into Manhattan be worse in terms of the bumper-to-bumper lifestyle?
In a 2017 study from INRIX Roadway Analytics, an independent “cloud-based” traffic data firm on the West Coast, they determined that the stretch of I-95 running through Frederickburg, in which 1,394 traffic jams were recorded on the southbound lane over a two-month period, sat at the top of the 25 most congested areas in the U.S.
Many would say, rightfully so, that Fredericksburg is not a large 3,000,000-strong metropolitan area in which such traffic would be justified. They would be right again.
The reason for the massive amounts of traffic is mismanagement and forgetfulness.
Not too long ago, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) unveiled their coveted “Six-Year Improvement Program” packed with the goodness of over 3,700 transportation project statewide, including local and interstate highway improvements, public transits projects, and upgrades to air and seaports. However, much of this resembles the failed Five-Year Plans of Stalinist USSR – all destined for failure from the beginning due to unrealistic quotas that would not be met for decades to come.
VDOT claims that the 111 projects in the Fredericksburg region are “fully funded” as the the 2019-2024 plan sets aside $639 million for the area, according to what VDOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon told the Free Lance-Star.
As well, approximately $1 billion worth of transportation construction projects are currently in the “pipeline” for Fredericksburg. This includes the long overdue $248 million northbound and southbound Rappahannock Bridge crossings, a new interchange at Route 3, widening of State Route 610, a $20 million project to refurbish the Chatham Bridge, and several Virginia Railway Express upgrades, including a platform extension at the Brooke station to accommodate longer commuter trains.
Nevertheless, there are still a handful of projects that remain unfunded.
While the news of these projects are music to the ears of anyone in the Fredericksburg area, or anyone who has to make a long, arduous journey through it to Washington, D.C., it is important to note that these were project that were forgotten. As the population of the town grew and the traffic around it and through it on the highways and local routes increased dramatically, VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) neglected Fredericksburg until it became a crisis they could not longer avoid.
Both departments recognized their historic project failures at a recent public meeting at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg. CTB representative Hap Connors pointed out that many of the upcoming improvements to the region’s transportation system are “catch-up” projects that should have been done long ago.
As well, Transportation Secretary Shannon Valentine acknowledged that while significant strides have already been made in tackling the region’s transportation backlog, “there is still much work to do.”
There is a perilous probability that the same exact thing will happen. It will be tempting for VDOT and state officials to forget their overlook after pumping $1 billion into transportation projects.
Everyone must also remember that there are almost $17 billion in projects statewide that need to be completed, many of which are also catch-up construction items. Moreover, also that VDOT Chief Engineer Garrett Moore said: “fully addressing the pavement issues would be impossible anytime soon.”
