Bad Roads: Fishersville Expands

bigbird42368

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It's an Augusta County road known for heavy traffic and accidents, but the Virginia Department of Transportation has a $35 million plan to fix it.

Commuters say, during rush hour, the bottleneck traffic on Tinkling Spring Road actually floods onto the entrance ramps of Interstate 64.
According to P.J. Hudlow, who works just off exit 91, close calls on the bridge are a daily occurrence."There are some people who will still stop at a light and pull further than they should, and the big trucks can't get off the interstate. I saw that today on my way to work," says Hudlow.
With nearby UPS, Fed-Ex and Wilson Trucking, semis are constantly entering and exiting the interstate, in addition, Sheetz, Expoland and Augusta Health also contribute to the congestion.
"I've seen people who actually panic when they get an emergency vehicle behind them, and they don't know what to do, especially at this intersection," adds Hudlow.
Matt Dana of VDOT says, with all the recent growth and more to come due to developing neighborhoods, VDOT began looking for a solution to the problem.
"We look at not only the current needs but our needs 20 years from now, so we are looking at how those future developments will impact," explains Dana.
VDOT says the solution is to widen a one-mile stretch of the road.
"The main purpose of the project is to alleviate that bottleneck and replace that two lane bridge with a four lane bridge that also has turn lanes on it," says Dana.VDOT is holding an information meeting about the project, hoping the public will see the plans and share concerns. So far, construction for the project isn't funded."It pays to look ahead and get projects available in case funding becomes available," adds Dana.
VDOT says, if funding becomes available, construction would ideally begin by 2013.
 
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