Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine and the Republican-controlled General Assembly could not agree on a way to provide a long-term source for transportation funding in Virginia during 2006, but work crews did much better as several high-profile projects were completed and opened to the motoring public.
In May, 1,400 representatives from Maryland, the District and Virginia celebrated the opening of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River. A 1923 Rolls Royce once owned by President Woodrow Wilson, a Virginia native, was the first vehicle to cross the bridge.
“This bridge will not bring an end to the metro area’s traffic problems,” Kaine said. “But it will make a difference. In the short term, it will help thousands of families getback and forth to work. In the long term, it is a reminder of the progress we can make when Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. come together and focus on the people we serve.”
The Springfield interchange, known as the Mixing Bowl, saw two major improvements finished. In January, a bridge opened to carry traffic on Interstate 95 North to the Outer Loop. The bridge allows traffic heading toward the Wilson Bridge to separate earlier from traffic bound for D.C. or Tysons Corner.
In mid-December VDOT opened a new exit connecting the Outer Loop with southbound I-95. The ramp will separate long-distance drivers going to I-95 South from local traffic heading to Springfield destinations.
“People going to I-95 South try to get to the left and the local traffic tries to get to the right, and there are a lot of drivers who get confused and go back and forth,” said VDOT spokesman Steve Titunik.
Construction projects this year included work in areas besides the “mixing bowl” and the Wilson Bridge as well. VDOT opened four new lanes (one high-occupancy lane and one regular lane in each direction) on I-66 between Route 234 Business and the Route 234 Bypass in Prince William County and built a fourth lane on the Route 123 bridge over the Occoquan River, for example.
