WASHINGTON: A summit focused on transportation covered some of the area’s most pressing issues. Just like the experience of many drivers in and through the Fredericksburg region, Interstate 95 was the sticking point.The consensus at the summit, hosted by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, seemed clear:
The consistently congested interstate is more than just local concern.Several speakers and attendees said I–95 is a problem that deserves not only a state response but federal action.The summit’s first speaker, Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick, pointed out how “horrendous” traffic was on the interstate over the weekend.
He wasn’t stuck in it, but the Spotsylvania resident saw the congestion from the overpasses. He wasn’t the only one to mention the weekend traffic on I 95.Kilpatrick told the crowd of several dozen at Germanna Community College’s Spotsylvania campus that problems on 95 impact the area’s other roads, too.
He said that changes to how transportation projects get approved, such as a new state prioritization program, should help get needed road work done in the coming years.The commissioner and others mentioned the Rappahannock River Crossing, a proposed project that would add collector distributor lanes along 95 between U.S. 17 in Stafford County and State Route 3 in Fredericksburg.
