Traffic on U.S. 250 in Albemarle County will be detoured onto Interstate 64 overnight Wednesday, April 19 and Thursday, April 20.
Detours will be directed again overnight on Sunday, April 23 and Monday, April 24.
Final paving work will be completed on U.S. 250 (Richmond Road) at the diverging diamond interchange project. From 9 p.m. to 5 p.m., only emergency vehicles will be permitted through the work area.
Paving is also scheduled this week on two I-64 exit ramps. From 9 p.m. today until 5 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, the westbound exit ramp from I-64 will be closed. During the closure, traffic will be detoured to the next exit and return to U.S. 250, which will remain open during the construction project.
The following detours will be in place during the closure of U.S. 250 overnight for paving operations:
- S. 250 westbound through traffic will use I-64 east to exit 129 (Route 616 Keswick/Boyd Tavern) then back to U.S. 250.
- S. 250 eastbound through traffic will use I-64 west to exit 121 (Route 20 Charlottesville/Scottsville) then back to U.S. 250.
- I-64 eastbound to U.S. 250 westbound traffic will use I-64 east to exit 129 (Route 616 Keswick/Boyd Tavern) then back to U.S. 250.
- I-64 westbound to U.S. 250 eastbound traffic will use I-64 west to exit 121 (Route 20 Charlottesville/Scottsville) then back to U.S. 250.
The overnight paving is the last major work necessary on the project. The diverging diamond interchange briefly shifts vehicles to the opposite side of the road, eliminating traditional left turns that must cross over oncoming traffic. The new interchange will improve safety by reducing the number of spots where vehicles could collide and can handle more than 600 left-turn movements per hour, twice the capacity of a conventional interchange.
Motorists will proceed through the traffic signal at one end of the interchange and follow their lane to the opposite side of the roadway. I-64 will be accessible by merging left onto the interstate using an on-ramp without having to stop or wait for oncoming traffic to pass. U.S. 250 through traffic will proceed to a second traffic signal at the opposite side of the interchange and follow the lane to the right side of the road.
The diverging diamond interchange project, which will cost $14.3 million, is one of six projects in a package of improvements to Albemarle County roads in a $28.5 million design-build contract awarded to Curtis Contracting Inc. of West Point, Va. Wallace Montgomery of Vienna, Va. is providing design services.
Four projects are almost complete: the reconfiguration of the I-64 Exit 118 interchange at U.S. 29, an additional lane from I-64 to the Fontaine Avenue exit from U.S. 29 north, the Rio Mills connector road between Rio Mills Road and Berkmar Drive and a roundabout at Route 20 (Stony Point Road) and Route 649 (Proffit Road). A second roundabout at U.S. 250 (Rockfish Gap Turnpike) and Route 151 (Critzer Shop Road) at Afton is also nearly complete.
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
