Ground was broken today to build a new, nearly 700-space Park & Ride commuter lot in Spotsylvania County and provide a convenient location for workers to rideshare close to Route 1 and Interstate 95’s exit 126 interchange.
The commuter lot is a partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), Spotsylvania County, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC).
The $16.5 million project is being funded through a combination of Virginia’s SMART SCALE program, Spotsylvania County funds, and a grant from the I-95/395 Commuter Choice program, which is funded with toll revenue from the I-95/395 Express Lanes facility.
When parking opens for use in May 2023, the lot will provide a dedicated area for transit arrivals and departures with a passenger shelter. Carpools and vanpools will have a separate pickup and dropoff lane. The lane is designed to also accommodate slugging, which is an informal, instant carpooling practice where three or more people rideshare to use high-occupancy road facilities.
Within the total of 683 parking spaces, the lot will provide 14 accessible parking spaces, 10 motorcycle parking spaces, and a bicycle rack. To support multimodal transportation and promote bicycle and pedestrian travel to the commuter lot, a 10-foot-wide shared use path will be built along Route 1, and sidewalk will be built along Commonwealth Drive.
“Ridesharing helps us reduce congestion and vehicle emissions on the Interstate 95 corridor and surrounding roads, which benefits our entire community,” said Cedric Rucker, Commonwealth Transportation Board member, Fredericksburg District. “To support Fredericksburg area residents making the effort to ride transit or join a carpool, vanpool or slug, this new facility will provide a location close to home that is easy to access, and will hopefully encourage more people to consider alternatives to driving alone.”
The new lot is located near residential neighborhoods in the Lee’s Hill, Massaponax, and Jackson Gateway areas of Spotsylvania. It is approximately 2 miles south of a new outpatient U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility under construction near the exit 126 interchange.
“This new Park and Ride commuter lot coming to the Cosner’s Corner area of Spotsylvania, will help to ease the burden of work commutes for those residents who travel outside of the county for their jobs,” said Lee Hill District Supervisor Gary Skinner, Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. “When this state-of-the-art commuter lot opens, it will be so much more convenient for residents who won’t have to travel as far to carpool for work and commuters will have the added benefit of being able to access the lot by driving, walking or riding bicycles. The lot’s close proximity to nearby neighborhoods and the Veterans Affairs clinic under construction, only adds to the appeal of this much-needed project.”
While the Commuter Choice program for the I-95/395 corridor supports numerous existing transit and commuter services available to residents in the Fredericksburg region, this is the first program-supported construction project physically located in Spotsylvania County.
“NVTC is delighted that we can play a pivotal role in completing the funding commitments for this significant capital investment that will benefit I-95 commuters for years to come,” said Kate Mattice, executive director, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. “Our Commuter Choice program – using a portion of toll revenues from this corridor – is precisely designed to invest in quality projects that will move more people through the I-95 corridor. Through NVTC’s investment in the new commuter lot, more vanpools and carpools will be able to travel in the soon-to-be-extended 95 and 395 Express Lanes for a no-cost, congestion-free trip to the Pentagon, downtown D.C. and other worksites in the corridor.”
“As not just a Transportation Commission that collects revenues and helps shape funding decisions, but as a provider of transit services for the region, this is another excellent opportunity for PRTC/OmniRide to reduce congestion on the I-95 corridor,” said Dr. Bob Schneider, PRTC/OmniRide executive director. “It’s about our air quality and our life quality, and we make both of those better for the residents of Northern Virginia.”
When this project is finished, a total of 4,732 commuter parking spaces will be available in Spotsylvania across five Park & Ride locations. Existing commuter lots are available at the Spotsylvania Virginia Railway Express station, and at Route 3 and Route 627 (Gordon Road), Route 3 and Route 639 (Salem Church Road), and Route 208 (Courthouse Road) and Houser Drive.
Turn lane improvements being built through this project on Route 1 and on Commonwealth Drive will assist vehicles entering and departing the commuter lot from the intersection. A right-in, right-out entrance on Route 1 southbound will also provide access directly into the new commuter lot.
The project contractor is Allan Myers Va., Inc. of Glen Allen, Virginia.
Most construction activity to build the commuter lot and associated storm water management facilities over 11 acres of land will be accomplished outside of existing travel lanes. Periodic lane closures for construction activity will be scheduled to avoid peak travel times.
Travelers are encouraged to stay alert for construction crews and equipment working near the Route 1 and Commonwealth Drive intersection over the next 20 months. Slow-moving vehicles will be present on Route 1 and Commonwealth Drive as they enter and depart the work zone.
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