Stafford, Va. – Officials from Stafford and the Virginia Department of Transportation broke ground this morning on the Courthouse Road Widening Project. This project is part of a major redevelopment effort in the area that includes a number of transportation improvements, utility enhancements, recreation and tourism facilities, and capital investment in new Courthouse facilities that total an overall public investment of approximately $314.5 million in the Courthouse Planning Area by 2022. Officials envision a mixed-use project in the Courthouse area, creating a true downtown and hometown area where residents can live, shop and work in a walkable community.
“The Courthouse Road Widening Project is a project our Board has worked to bring to fruition for years along with VDOT. Making Courthouse Road safer and expanding its capacity helps all our drivers,” said Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Paul Milde. “Just as importantly, this project continues the ongoing transformation of the Courthouse area. With the Courthouse Road widening and the I-95/Courthouse Road Interchange project, almost $200 million is being invested in transportation as part of the overall $314.5 million infrastructure investment in the Courthouse area.”
The Widening Project provides four lanes of roadway from Ramoth Church Road to Courthouse Road, a distance of nearly three miles. There will also be a 10-foot-wide paved shared use path on the north side of Courthouse Road from Ramoth Church to the I-95 interchange and a five-foot-wide sidewalk from Ramoth Church to Colonial Forge High School. Eventually, the Courthouse Interchange project will redirect Courthouse Road to a new point off the interstate. The new road will terminate at Stafford Hospital, allowing foot and bicycle traffic from Ramoth Church Road to the hospital.
The Courthouse Road Widening Project also involves the creation of two new commuter lots, more than doubling the current parking at Courthouse Road to 1,100 parking places. Additionally, there will be dedicated carpool/vanpool pickup and drop-off areas. To assist traffic entering Colonial Forge High School, a new traffic signal will be activated at the school entrance in late August 2017. The Widening Project and the Interchange Project are both expected to be completed in July of 2020.