Interstate 95 in Virginia

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, Interstate 95 runs 179 miles (288 km) through the state. It runs concurrently for 3 miles (4.8 km) with Interstate 64 in Richmond, and meets the northern terminus of Interstate 85 in Petersburg. Though Interstate 95 was originally planned to go straight through Washington, D.C., it was instead routed around it, along the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway. From Petersburg to Richmond, I-95 was the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike.

The point where it enters the Capital Beltway, the Springfield Interchange, is one of the busiest interchanges in the United States. I-95 continues into Maryland along the Beltway over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

1 Route description
2 Auxiliary routes
3 HOV facilities
4 Maps
5 Exit list
6 Usage
7 References
8 External links

Route description

From North Carolina to Petersburg

Interstate 95 continues the pattern of being a four-lane highway from North Carolina. The welcome center forbids trucks, but truck stops at the first two interchanges provides a substitute place for truckers to stay before reaching Emporia. North of here, I-95 and US 301 are often intertwined with each other as they encounter interchanges with Virginia Secondary State Routes. In the Owens-Stony Creek area in Sussex County, the road not only runs parallel to US 301 but shares bridges with I-95, many of which have access to Route 301 from connecting roads. This pattern ends at Exit 33 at the corner of a fairly popular truck stop and travel center. Crossing the Sussex-Prince George County Line, the first site along I-95 is another rest area that also serves as the Petersburg Area Tourist Information Center. The road makes a slight northeast turn between Carson and Templeton, then turns straight north again before approaching the south end of Interstate 295 just before crossing the southern border of the City of Petersburg at Exit 47. A series of frontage roads connecting the interchanges with US 460, US 301 and the northern terminus of Interstate 85. Immediately after the interchange with Interstate 85, remnants of the former toll booths for the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike can be found.

Petersburg through Richmond

North of Petersburg, I-95 crosses the Appomattox River and enters the City of Colonial Heights and then Chesterfield County. Pocahontas Parkway and an extraordinarily high Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge over I-95 and the James River just south of the Richmond City Limits. A CSX railroad line runs parallel to the northbound lane in the vicinity of the Port of Richmond, and the Commerce Road Industrial Area, a region that includes an R.J. Reynolds office and an old bridge manufacturing plant. As I-95 itself crosses the James River, Main Street Station can be seen on the north bank, and the road winds around the station itself. The first interchange after it crosses the James River is the tolled State Route 195 and from there the road winds towards the multiplex with Interstate 64. I-64/95 curves to the northwest to cross under US 1/301, only to turn back north briefly, and curve northwest again, as it approaches VA 161. This pattern ends when I-64 turns west at the same interchange as the northern terminus of I-195. From here I-95 curves back to the northeast and has two interchanges with US 1, and later US 301 separately, the latter of which has separate carriageways on both side of I-95. Another interchange with Interstate 295 exists in Glen Allen. However, I-295 does not terminate there, and the south-to-eastbound and west-to-northbound off-ramps between the two can be accessed in the medians of both roads.

Central Virginia toward Washington, D.C.

Throughout much of Central Virginia, I-95 climbs a series of mountains, and contains wide tree-lined medians. Close to the 100 mile mark in Doswell, signs for the Kings Dominion amusement park are blended in with standard destination signs. Near Fredericksburg, another interchange with US 1 is also the location of the multiplex with US 17 from Massaponax to Falmouth. The wide tree-line divider resumes north of here. At Exits 143 in Aquia, the northbound off and on ramps connect directly to US 1, even though the interchange is specifically for VSR 610. Crossing over the Chopawamsic Creek takes I-95 through Quantico MCB, which contains some restrictive interchanges. After Quantico, the bi-directional HOV lane begins, and runs through the center of I-95 through most of the rest of its journey toward DC.

Further north in Prince William County, there are four rest areas; two for trucks in Dumfries, and two for cars in Dale City. The truck rest areas contain their own weigh stations, and are located near Exit 152. The car rest areas have uniquely positioned entrance and exit ramps. The southbound car rest area is so close to Exit 156 that it is only accessible from the southbound collective-distributor road. In Lorton, a scissor interchange exists with US 1. Lorton Auto Train Station is conveniently located at Exit 163. Due to public opposition of efforts to build I-95 through Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland, I-95 is diverted onto a multiplex with Interstate 495 at the Springfield Interchange. From here, I-95/495 trudge east through Franconia where it runs over the WMATA Blue Line, Rose Hill, and Huntington where it runs under the WMATA Yellow Line, and finally Alexandria where it crosses the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland.

Auxiliary routes

Interstate 195 is a short spur from north of downtown Richmond south into downtown.
Interstate 295 is a bypass to the east of Richmond, from I-95 south of Petersburg, across Interstate 64 east of Richmond and I-95 north of Richmond to I-64 west of Richmond.
Interstate 395 is a branch from Springfield north into downtown Washington, D.C. It was part of I-95 until 1977.
Interstate 495 is the Capital Beltway, a full loop around Washington, D.C. Since 1977, I-95 has run along its east half.
Interstate 595 was a planned branch from I-395 south to Washington National Airport along U.S. Route 1.
Interstate 795 was a planned number for present I-95 from I-295 south of Petersburg to Interstate 85 in downtown Petersburg; I-95 would have bypassed Petersburg and Richmond to the east on I-295. The renumbering was never done because tolls were removed from the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike section of I-95.^[2]
State Route 895 is the Pocahontas Parkway, a connection from I-95 south of Richmond east to I-295. It was not numbered as an Interstate because the project opened as a toll road using federal funds,thus disqualifying it from Interstate status.

HOV facilities

Interstate 95 extends the twin-lane barrier-separated HOV Lanes that begin on I-395 at the 14th Street Bridge in Washington. These lanes have been extended several times, most recently to just south of Woodbridge.

As part of the Quantico Creek bridge rebuilding project, a currently unused three-lane 300-foot (91 m) long bridge was constructed in the median just south of the southern HOV terminus for use if and when the HOV facilities are extended. It was previously used as a detour bridge and retains its lane striping from such use.^[3]^[4]

The new I-95 HOV/HOT lanes project will create approximately 29 miles (47 km) of HOV/HOT lanes on I-95 from Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to the vicinity of Edsall Road on I-395 in Fairfax County and includes: Constructing two new reversible HOV/HOT lanes for 9 miles (14 km) from Route 610/Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to Route 234 in Dumfries, where the existing HOV lanes begin. Widening the existing HOV lanes from two lanes to three lanes for 14 miles (23 km) from the Prince William Parkway to approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the Springfield Interchange in the vicinity of Edsall Road. Making improvements to the existing two HOV lanes for 6 miles (9.7 km) from Route 234 to the Prince William Parkway. Adding new or improved access points in the areas of Garrisonville Road, Joplin Road, Prince William Parkway, Fairfax County Parkway, Franconia-Springfield Parkway, I-495 and in the vicinity of Edsall Road. The new HOV/HOT lanes project will no longer include the originally planned construction of 6 miles (9.7 km) of HOV/HOT lanes on I-395 in Alexandria or Arlington County or upgrades to key interchanges at Shirlington and Eads Street in Arlington County. Those lanes will continue to be restricted to HOV, transit, eligible hybrids and motorcycles during rush hours. However, VDOT is advancing plans to construct a new ramp at I-395 and Seminary Road for the Mark Center, concurrent with the HOV/HOT lanes project. The ramp will be open to HOV and transit only. Construction on the ramp could begin as early as 2012.VDOT will also expand park-and-ride lots and fund other local transit improvements to maximize the benefit of the new HOV/HOT lanes network. Construction of the 14-mile HOT lanes project on I-495 is more than 50 percent complete and the lanes will open to traffic by early 2013. VDOT is also advancing studies to support the ultimate extension of HOV/HOT lanes on I-95 south of Route 610 into Spotsylvania County.^[5]^[6]

Maps

Exit list

As was common in other states, the present Interstate 95 routing in Virginia utilized pre-existing expressways and turnpikes. As sections opened, the existing sequential exit numbering was not modified; as a result, traveling from an old turnpike onto a new section of pavement (or vice versa) could result in a jump in exit numbers up or down. For instance, when entering from the south the section of I-95 previously signed only as the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, the exit number jumped from 13 to 2. Similarly, when traveling from the Turnpike onto a new section of I-95 north of it, the exit number jumped from 17 to 35. One result of this was that a driver traveling from border to border in the state on the same Interstate routing would encounter three Exit 2s before leaving.

In the late 1980s, VDOT undertook a major redesignating of exit numbers throughout the state from the haphazard sequential system to the mileage-based scheme used today.

County	Location	Mile	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Greensville		0.0			I-95 south	I-95 continues into North Carolina
	Skippers			4	SR 629 – Skippers
	Emporia			8	US 301 – Emporia
			Meherrin River Crossing
				11	US 58 – Emporia, Norfolk, South Hill	Signed as exits 11A (west) and 11B (east)
	Belfield			12	US 301 north	Northbound exit only
	Belfield			13	SR 614 – Emporia
Sussex	Henry			17	US 301
	Jarratt			20	SR 631 – Jarratt
	Owens			24	SR 645
	Nottoway River		Nottoway River Crossing
	Stony Creek			31	SR 40 – Stony Creek, Waverly, Sussex
	Stony Creek			33	SR 602
Prince George	Carson			37	US 301 / SR 623 / SR 645 – Carson
	Courtland			41	US 301 / SR 35 / SR 156 – Courtland
	Rives			45	US 301 – Rives
	Rives			46	I-295 north – Hopewell
City of Petersburg				47	SR 629 (Rives Road)
				48	Wagner Road
				50A	US 460 east (County Drive)	Southbound is numbered exit 50; no southbound entrance; southern end of US 460 concurrency
				50B-C	US 301 (Crater Road)	Part of exit 50 southbound
				51	I-85 south / US 460 west – South Hill, Blackstone	Northern end of US 460 concurrency
				50D	US 301 (Crater Road) – Wythe Street, Washington Street, Downtown	Exit 52 southbound
				52	Bank Street	Northbound exit only
Appomattox River			Appomattox River Crossing
City of Colonial Heights				53	Southpark Boulevard
City of Colonial Heights				54	SR 144 (Temple Avenue)
Chesterfield				58	SR 620 / SR 746 (Ruffin Mill Road)
				61	SR 10 – Hopewell, Chester	Signed as exits 61A (Hopewell) and 61B (Chester)
				62	SR 288 – Chesterfield
				64	SR 613 (Willis Road)
				67A	SR 895 east (Pocahontas Parkway) – Varina	Toll road; use to access Richmond International Airport
				67B	SR 150 north (Chippenham Parkway) – Bon Air	Formerly exit 67
City of Richmond				69	SR 161 (Bells Road)
				73	Maury Street	Southbound is signed "Maury Street, Commerce Road"
			James River Crossing
				74A	SR 195 to I-195	Toll road
				74B	Franklin Street	Southbound exit only
				74C	US 33 (Broad Street) / US 250
				75	I-64 east – Williamsburg, Norfolk	Southern end of I-64 concurrency; exit to reach Richmond International Airport
				76A	Chamberlayne Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				76B	US 1 (Belvidere Street) / US 301	No northbound exit
				78	SR 161 – Rosedale, Carillon
				79	I-64 west / I-195 south – Charlottesville	Northern end of I-64 concurrency
Henrico				80	SR 161 (Hermitage Rd.) – Lakeside, Rosedale	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				81	US 1	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				82	US 301 / SR 2 (Chamberlayne Avenue)
	Chamberlayne			83	SR 73 west (Parham Road)	Signed as exit 83B for VA 73 west and exit 83A Parham Road east
	Glen Allen			84	I-295 – Mechanicsville, Short Pump	Signed as exits 84A (Mechanicsville) and 84B (Short Pump); exit 84A is also access to the Richmond International Airport
Hanover	North Glen Allen			86	SR 656 – Atlee, Elmont	Signed as exits 86A (Atlee) and 86B (Elmont)
	North Glen Allen			89	SR 802 (Lewistown Road)
	Ashland			92	SR 54 – Hanover, Ashland	Signed as exits 92A (Hanover) and 92B (Ashland) northbound
	Doswell			98	SR 30 – Doswell
North Anna River			North Anna River Crossing
Caroline	Bowling Green			104	SR 207 to US 301 – Carmel Church, Bowling Green
Caroline	Ruther Glen			110	SR 639 – Ladysmith
Spotsylvania	Thornburg			118	SR 606 – Thornburg
	Massaponax			126A	US 1 north – Fredericksburg
	Massaponax			126B	US 1 / US 17 south – Spotsylvania Courthouse, Massaponax	Southern end of US 17 concurrency
	Fredericksburg			130	SR 3 – Fredericksburg, Culpeper	Signed as exits 130A (Fredericksburg) and 130B (Culpeper)
Rappahannock River			Rappahannock River Crossing
Stafford	Falmouth			133	US 17 north / US 17 Bus. – Warrenton, Falmouth, Fredericksburg	Northern end of US 17 concurrency; signed as exits 133A and 133B southbound
				136	SR 8900 (Centreport Parkway) to US 1	Exit opened December 22, 2005
	Stafford			140	SR 630 – Stafford
	Garrisonville			143	US 1 / SR 610 – Aquia, Garrisonville	Signed as exits 143A (Aquia, US 1) and 143B(Garrisonville, VA 610)
Chopawamsic Creek			Chopawamsic Creek Crossing
Prince William	Quantico			148	Russell Road – Quantico
	Quantico			150	SR 619 – Triangle, Quantico, Independent Hill	Signed as exits 150A (Triangle, Quantico) and 150B (Independent Hill) southbound
	Quantico Creek		Quantico Creek Crossing
	Dumfries			152	SR 234 – Dumfries, Manassas, Montclair	Signed as exits 152A (Dumfries) and 152B (Manassas, Montclair)
	Dale City			156	SR 784 – Dale City, Rippon Landing
	Woodbridge			158	SR 3000 (Prince William Parkway) – Woodbridge, Manassas	Signed as exits 158A (Woodbridge) and 158B (Manassas)
	Woodbridge			160	SR 123 – Woodbridge, Occoquan, Lake Ridge	Signed as exits 160A (south) and 160B (north) northbound; no access from I-95 south to SR 123 south
Occoquan River			Occoquan River Crossing
Fairfax	Lorton			161	US 1 north – Fort Belvoir, Mount Vernon	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				161	US 1 south – Woodbridge	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
				163	SR 642 – Lorton
	Newington			166	SR 7100 (Fairfax County Parkway) / SR 790 (Alban Road) / Backlick Road, Fullerton Road – Newington, Fort Belvoir	Signed as exits 166A (south) and 166B (north)
	Springfield			167	SR 617 south (Backlick Road) / Fullerton Road	Southbound exit only
					SR 7900 (Franconia–Springfield Parkway)	Full interchange with reversible HOV lane access only (ramps to/from the north only provide access to I-395)
				169	SR 644 – Franconia, Springfield	Signed as exits 169A (east) and 169B (west)
				170A	I-495 north – Tysons Corner	Southern end of I-495 concurrency
				170B	I-395 north – Washington, D.C.	Part of Springfield Interchange
City of Alexandria				173	SR 613 (Van Dorn Street) – Franconia
				174	Eisenhower Avenue Connector – Alexandria
				176	SR 241 (Telegraph Road) – Alexandria, Huntington
				177	US 1 – Alexandria, Belle Haven, Mount Vernon	Signed as exits 177A (south) and 177B (north)
Potomac River			Woodrow Wilson Bridge I-95 continues through Washington, D.C. into Maryland
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened

Usage

In 2010, volume at Newington, northbound, from 6-9 am, is about 8,800 vehicles in the two HOV lanes, 18,300 vehicles in the three lanes with no restriction.^[7]

References

^ Federal Highway Administration Route Log and Finder List, Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002
^ Interstate 95 (AARoads.com; Interstate Guide)
^ The orphaned bridge over Quantico Creek is located at
^ I-95 Quantico Creek bridge reconstruction project from VDOT
^
^ "VIRGINIA ADVANCES NEW I-95 HOV/HOT LANES PROJECT AND NEW RAMP TO SEMINARY ROAD AT MARK CENTER". Virginiadot.org. http://www.virginiadot.org/newsroom/northern_virginia/2011/virginia_advances_new_i-9550721.asp. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
^ Thomson, Robert (18 April 2010). "Dr. Gridlock column:Opening HOV lanes to all after crash not a quick and easy job". Washington, DC: Washington Post. pp. C2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/17/AR2010041702769.html.

External links

Exitlists.com (I-95)

Interstate 95
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