Expansion of the Prince William Parkway

A major thoroughfare in Woodbridge is under construction. The Prince William Parkway Widening Project, approved in 2009 by the Federal Highway Administration, is thoroughly underway as many residents along Davis Ford and Hoadly roads have already noticed.

While the contract states that the road project should be finished by Aug. 31, 2011 delays on the parkway have been few and far between.

Summer traffic can be heavier during the day on the parkway, and it can get jammed when construction forces traffic down to one lane.

"We hope the construction activities will have minimal impact on motorists as most of the construction will occur outside the existing lanes of traffic and the contractor is not allowed to execute lane closures during times of peak traffic flow," said project manager Tom Blaser.

The expansion of the major road in the Woodbridge community is slated to run from Hoadly to Old Bridge roads.

According to a quarterly project report, the plans include widening the road to a six-lane divided road with a curb and pedestrian facilities.

Construction on the parkway corridor will help alleviate bottlenecking traffic as the road splits to continue onto Old Bridge Road or turn onto Minnieville Road, eventually leading to Interstate 95.

Funding for this road widening project has been received from economic stimulus funding and fiscal year 2010 proffers.

When the parkway was first conceived, the money came from taxpaying citizens but due to a tight economy road projects have come to a halt.

Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe, whose district includes a large portion of the parkway, notes how much has changed since the road was first built.

"Since 1988, when the citizens approved the first set of bonds to build the Prince William Parkway, the county has been at the vanguard among Virginia localities for building and improving our own roads," said Nohe. "Unfortunately, the faltering economic climate and tight credit market have made it impossible for us to take on any new debt for road construction."

According to Nohe, and the planning documents for the road expansion, the project has been funded by a combination of local, state and federal funds with additional funds coming in from developers involved in building projects in the area.

"Our ability to co-mingle money from many different sources has not come easily, but I like to think that it is a clear demonstration of our commitments to doing the right thing for the community every time," says Nohe of the financial state of the parkway project.

Additional right turn lanes will be added in this project, which will also help to lessen the strain of traffic as highly-anticipated real estate projects such as the apartment complexes at Reid's Prospect come to fruition.