The massive construction project designed to smooth traffic flow and reduce accidents at the Springfield Interchange, where three major highways connect and thousands of vehicles converge, has finished ahead of schedule.
“It is the biggest transportation project in the history of Virginia,” said Del. Vince Callahan, R-McLean, who helped secure funding for the $676 million undertaking.
About 430,000 motorists pass through the interchange, known as the Mixing Bowl, each day. Interstate 95, I-395 and the Beltway meet at the Mixing Bowl, which was a confusing entanglement of lane changes and exit ramps that often left motorists frazzled after a misguided turn or a close encounter with a tractor-trailer.
“People would go into the Mixing Bowl and get spun around and be spit out in the wrong direction,” said Steve Titunik, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Work, which began in March 1999, wrapped up earlier this month and state officials will formally announce the project’s completion during a ceremony Wednesday, the date planners expected the work would conclude. Titunik said the project will be on budget, a rarity with transportation construction.
Most importantly, Titunik said, the new Mixing Bowl will allow motorists driving on I-95 to pass through the area without tangling with Beltway traffic. Previously, vehicles making trips on the Beltway had to mix with travelers on I-95, complicating local drives.
Locally, the project reconfigured several Springfield roads heading into the interchange.
While the overhauled interchange will be safer for drivers by eliminating the need for multiple lane changes, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend said the new traffic patterns could require adjustments by motorists. He expects drivers who use the interchange often to quickly orientate themselves, but worries that others could take longer.
