NEW KENT — Improvements to a busy exit off Interstate 64 in New Kent County have resulted in congestion and concerns over drivers running a red light.
Issues caused by the ongoing I-64 Gap Widening Emmaus Church Road (Route 106) Replacement Project have resulted in multiple complaints, resulting in the sheriff’s office promising to patrol near the bridge.
“Regarding the 211 exit, they are replacing the overpass one lane at a time. They have installed traffic lights at the interstate exits and for the north and southbound traffic,” New Kent Sheriff Lee Bailey said in an email on Aug. 31.
“The signal allows one side to cross the bridge at a time, and we are getting reports of vehicles running the signal, and they are meeting in the middle of the overpass requiring vehicles having to back up to get off the bridge.”
Bailey said he’s request a patrol car at the location so that deputies, when not tied up on calls, can pay extra attention to the location.
District 3 Supervisor Amy Pearson called the traffic situation at the bridge a “real big shock to everybody” and welcomed ideas to avoid the area.
“Please understand shutting it down completely poses an issue for public safety access to potential accidents/medical responses to local neighborhoods and the interstate,” Pearson wrote.
Phillip Frazier, a VDOT resident engineer who gave a report on the project at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 8, acknowledged safety and traffic backup concerns from the public. Replacing the bridge is being prioritized during the I-64 improvement project.
He said the bridge, built in 1972, is “structurally deficient” and is “beyond simple maintenance.” Frazer said that does not mean it’s unsafe.
Frazer said the bridge is too narrow to maintain two lines of traffic during its replacement. He said the only alternative to a single lane controlled by a signal was a lengthy detour.
He said VDOT will take mitigation measures, including building an accessible shoulder to help address traffic queuing in the northbound direction. Frazer acknowledged that drivers are meeting head-on on the bridge. “Folks are going pretty slow. I don’t know that we have had any severe accidents,” he said.
He said VDOT has been asked and is considering putting up “no left on red signs.”
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
