Nelson County motorists urged to plan for possible congestion due to Lock’n

Motorists in Nelson County should be aware of possible congestion and changes in traffic pattern on US 29 and side roads near Oak Ridge Estate in Lovingston from Wednesday evening, August 24 through midday Monday, August 29 due to the Lock’n music festival.

The highest volumes of traffic on Route 29 are expected to occur during the overnight hours of Wednesday through early Thursday evening, late afternoon on Friday, Saturday andSunday and, during the departure period Sunday afternoon into midday Monday.

On Wednesday evening, contractors for the music festival in collaboration with the Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will begin setting up traffic control south of the Lovingston area. Due to the possibility of increased congestion, several changes in traffic pattern are planned, including:

• Access to crossovers between Oak Ridge Road (Route 653) and Morse Road (Route 748)  will be restricted on Thursday and at other times as needed;
• Diggs Mountain Road (Route 668) and Oak Ridge Road (Route 650) will be closed to through traffic at various times on Wednesday evening and all day Thursday;
• Wilson Road (Route 653) will be closed to event traffic unless dictated by weather conditions;
• Through traffic on Route 29 South will use the right lane; event traffic will use the left lane, and
• Through traffic on Route 29 North will use the left lane from north of Route 748; event traffic will use the right lane.

If considering an alternate route, motorists are encouraged to use Route 151 (Patrick Henry Highway) from the intersection of Route 29/151 in Amherst County to the intersection of Route 250/151 in Albemarle County.  This route is not recommended for trucks.

Motorists should anticipate additional vehicles, including recreational vehicles on Route 29 and several adjoining secondary routes, including Oak Ridge Road (Route 653), Arrington and Variety Mills Road (Route 655), Williamstown Road (Route 722), James River Road (Route 56), and Findlay Mt. Road (Route 647).

Message boards, other traffic control devices and a Traffic Hazard Advisory Radio will be used to alert motorists to these changes in traffic pattern and any major congestion issues. A motorist assistance unit will also be available during peak traffic periods to assist with any incidents that may occur.

For additional up-to-date information throughout the event, please call 511 or visit www.511Virginia.org, follow VDOT on Twitter @VaDOTLynchburg, or contact VDOT’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-367-7623 (800-FOR-ROAD).