VDOT News - Culpeper

CULPEPER — The Virginia Department of Transportation will make a major safety improvement to northbound Route 29 in northern Fauquier County this summer by removing a series of hills that have contributed to significant crashes on that busy section of highway.

The project will require closing the northbound lanes of Route 29 between July 8 and Aug. 2 from just north of the entrance to Battlefield Baptist Church to just south of the Route 29/215 intersection, a distance of about one-half mile. During that time, northbound traffic will detour using Route 17 north from Warrenton to Interstate 66 at Marshall. Local traffic will detour using Route 600 (Broad Run Church Road) and Route 215 (Vint Hill Road). The closure will not affect southbound traffic and drivers will be able to turn onto and from Route 215 during the closure.

The hills on the northbound approach to the Route 215 intersection limit the stopping sight distance for drivers. The intersection ranks as the number one safety need in VDOT’s nine-county Culpeper District with the highest potential for safety improvement. In the five years between 2013 and 2017 there were 113 crashes within the section where the project is planned.

During construction the hills will be cut and the dips between will be filled to reduce the grade and improve the stopping sight distance for northbound traffic. Access to several private entrances, including the Battlefield Baptist Church, will be maintained during the closure. A design-build contract is expected to be awarded in April 2019.

Information about the project is available on VDOT’s website on the Route 29 Corridor, Fauquier County page. Documents on the page include previous studies of the corridor as well as agendas and minutes from the U.S. 29 New Baltimore Advisory Panel meetings. If you are interested in receiving email notifications and updates about the project, email Lou Hatter, Culpeper District communications manager, at Lou.Hatter@VDOT.Virginia.gov.

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