New southbound Interstate 95 bridge opens in Fredericksburg

A new southbound bridge on Interstate 95, doubling capacity around Fredericksburg, is on track to finish five months ahead of schedule.

Opening the bridge is a key milestone in the $132 million I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing project, expected to finish in December – five months ahead of schedule.

Six southbound lanes over nearly six miles will be open when the project is fully complete later this year. The expansion will provide critical congestion relief along the busiest section of I-95 in Fredericksburg, which carries an average of 150,000 vehicles a day.

“The entire Commonwealth benefits from improving the flow of traffic on I-95 in Fredericksburg,” said Gov. Ralph Northam. “As we open new lanes on this bridge, people and commerce will enjoy a more reliable travel time, so they can get to their destination faster and more safely.”

When the project is complete, the southbound lanes will be separated into local lanes for nearby residents and travel lanes for long distance commuters. The divided lanes will reduce weaving and current stop-and-go conditions. Click here to see what the new lanes will look like.

“Virginia’s corridor-wide, multimodal approach to reducing congestion along I-95 includes improvements to our highways, our rail networks, and our transit systems,” said Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “Expanding capacity at this major bottleneck will reduce travel times along the entire north-south corridor, enhancing commerce and improving the quality of life for the commuters in this region.”

An adjacent project will expand the I-95 Northbound lanes across the Rappahannock River. This $132 million effort is adding new northbound lanes between the same interchanges as the southbound project, and a fourth auxiliary lane from exit 133 to exit 136 in Stafford. New northbound lanes will open to traffic in early 2024.

Both projects will connect with I-95 Express Lanes, which are being extended an additional 10 miles in Stafford to the Route 17 area.

“We applaud our contractor partners at Wagman on today’s milestone,” said Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Brich. “As they approach an early project delivery later this year, we appreciate their hard work to bring congestion relief to the Fredericksburg region and all Virginia travelers as soon as possible.”

Learn more about the I-95 Southbound Rappahannock River Crossing here.