RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Tamara Neale 804-786-6458 tamara.neale@vdot.virginia.gov

CO-0453 Nov. 19, 2004

VDOT SUSPENDS LANE CLOSURES FOR THANKSGIVING DAY HOLIDAY

RICHMOND — The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will help ease your Thanksgiving Day holiday travel by opening lanes that are temporarily closed for construction or maintenance work on many major roadways. In general, those lanes will clear from noon Wednesday, Nov. 24 through Thanksgiving Day. Construction in some areas of the state will resume on Friday, Nov. 26. Construction zones with concrete barriers and orange barrels will remain set up.

Motorists are urged to obey the posted speed limits and pay attention to the orange signs in work zones throughout Virginia. They’re posted to guide drivers safely through work zones.

In Virginia last year, 16 people died in crashes in highway work zones, and 308 people were injured in 567 work zone crashes on state-maintained roadways. Nationally, four out of five persons killed in work zone crashes are motorists. Reckless driving by speeding was the top offense charged to motorists in Virginia’s work zones last year. The fine for speeding in a work zone is $500.

The following lists services for motorists:

Smart Tag/ E-ZPass - Virginia’s electronic toll collection system is part of the E-ZPass network. Motorists can use either Smart Tag or E-ZPass on many toll facilities from Virginia to Massachusetts. For more information go to www.EZPassVA.com or call 1-877-762-7824.

Emergency Operations Center and VDOT's Web site - VDOT's Emergency Operations Center in Richmond oversees the Virginia Highway Helpline, a toll-free number motorists can call to learn about highway conditions or to report problems. There is also a Highway Helpline page on VDOT's Web site. For information about current road and traffic conditions, call VDOT's 24-hour Highway Helpline 1-800-367-ROAD, or visit www.VirginiaDOT.org.

511 Travel Information Service - I-81 travelers can dial 511 or visit 511Virginia.org for information on current driving conditions, incidents, weather, regional tourist sites, food, lodging and emergency services. Telephone customers outside the I-81 region can access the 511 service by dialing 1-800-578-4111.

Safety Service Patrols - To aid stranded motorists, VDOT's Safety Service Patrols provide basic automobile repair and first aid. They also respond to traffic crashes and help provide traffic control. The patrols operate on major highways in VDOT's Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, Hampton Roads and Salem districts.

Smart Traffic Centers - VDOT operates Smart Traffic Centers in Northern Virginia, Richmond Hampton Roads and Staunton. Staffed around the clock, these centers monitor road conditions with the help of video cameras located above busy highway corridors. The Smart Traffic Centers warn motorists about traffic back-ups, crashes and other adverse road conditions through electronic message boards and highway advisory radio.

Road conditions and major work zones affecting traffic in Virginia include the following:

HOV lanes in the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads regions - In Northern Virginia, restrictions will be lifted on the I-95/395 HOV lanes from 10 a.m. Nov. 24 through
6 a.m. Nov. 26. HOV lanes will be reversed to run in the southbound direction until
11 p.m. Nov. 24 and will switch to the northbound direction at midnight. In Hampton Roads, the I-64 HOV lanes and reversible roadway will operate as normal.

Northern Virginia - The two biggest projects in Northern Virginia, the Springfield Interchange and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, will not close travel lanes from noon Nov. 24 through noon Nov. 26. For more information on the Springfield Interchange project, citizens may call
1-877-959-5222 or visit www.springfieldinterchange.com. For the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, click on www.wilsonbridge.com or call 1-877-INFO WWB.

Fredericksburg - There will be no temporary lane closures on I-95 from noon Nov. 24 through noon Nov. 29.

Richmond - There will be no temporary lane closures on the I-64 Acca Yard Bridge and the I-95 Atlee-Elmont Interchange projects from noon Nov. 24 through 6 a.m. Nov. 29. Construction behind concrete barriers may continue during this time.

The final portion of Route 288 between Lucks Lane and Midlothian Turnpike (Route 60) in Chesterfield County has opened. The final link allows motorists to make a continuous 32-mile trip from I-64 in Goochland County to I-95 in Chesterfield County.

Hampton Roads-Motorists should prepare for heavy traffic, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours on I-64 in the Hampton area between the Hampton Roads Center Parkway and the I-664 split. Barriers are set up that funnel traffic through a construction project to widen the interstate. No construction work will take place in travel lanes during the holiday from noon Wednesday, Nov. 24 to 6 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29.

Motorists headed to the Outer Banks may want to take the Chesapeake Expressway, which is a toll road, to save time. For more information on the toll road, visit www.chesapeakeexpressway.com

Motorists going to Virginia Beach may want to use I-664 Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel as an alternate route to the I-64 Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. The Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel is less traveled than the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry will operate on its normal schedule. New, increased security measures are in place at the ferry. Security guards will conduct random screenings of passengers and their vehicles in an effort to prevent dangerous substances and devices from boarding the ferry. This is in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act.

Shenandoah Valley - On I-64, all traffic is shifted to the eastbound bridge near mile marker 18 east of Covington in Alleghany County due to reconstruction of bridges over the Jackson River.

Southwest and Central Virginia - With 29 colleges and universities located along the I-81 corridor, there will be a noticeable increase in holiday travel traffic on the interstate, especially on Sunday, Nov. 28. Traffic could be very heavy near Harrisonburg, Roanoke and Christiansburg. Use caution; refer to changeable message signs and call 511 for real-time traffic information.

In Salem, work continues to widen East Main Street (Route 460) between Kessler Mill Road and Route 419. Traffic across the Mason Creek bridge is reduced to one lane in each direction. Lakehurst Avenue traffic will need to use Route 419.

Work to repair landslides on Route 58 between Route 640 and Lovers Leap Mountain in Patrick County will continue to delay traffic until early December.

I-77 bridges over the New River and Route 52 in Wythe County are being rebuilt. Motorists should be prepared to lower their speed limit through the work zone.

I-77/I-81 overlap in Wythe County: Due to high traffic volumes expected over the Thanksgiving Day holiday, be alert to the possibility of slowed or stopped traffic in this area.

U.S. 29 in Amherst County is one lane in each direction due to a long-term work zone. The speed limit is reduced to 45 miles per hour.