Multi-year road improvements substantially done as new Gainesville interchange opens

July 9, 2015 will be remembered as a date of great accomplishment in Western Prince William County.

On this day representatives of government departments and construction businesses gathered at 7500 Iron Bar Lane in the Virginia Gateway Shopping Center for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the Gainesville Interchange.

The $230 million Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) project is the largest ever in the region and one of Virginia’s current biggest. Shirley Contracting Co.  delivered the project on time and on budget.

In 2009, utilities were relocated in preparation of the June 2011 start of construction.

It is the capstone of local projects that improve area traffic flow and safety. It separates railroad tracks from roadways, removes traffic signals, provides sidewalks, a path, retaining walls, roadway lighting and landscaping.

It is built for the future when 175,000 vehicles a day by 2028 will travel on I-66 between US 29 and Rte. 234 Bypass and by 2035 US 29 is estimated to carry 87,000 vehicles a day through Gainesville.

Those who spoke about the interchange and participated in the ribbon cutting, as well as other attendees, illustrate the success of the project as a result of partnerships and and cooperation.

Members of VDOT, Prince William Department of Transportation, other state and county organizations, Norfolk Southern Railroad, elected state officials, the Mayor of Haymarket and the Commonwealth Transportation Board, all important players in accomplishing the successful interchange project, were in attendance. 

State Senator Charles Colgan, serving his final term, and John Stirrup, former Gainesville District Supervisor, attended to see the culmination they had a hand in producing.

Michael May, Occoquan District supervisor and Martin Nohe, Coles District supervisor, joined in the 11 am ribbon cutting with a panel of contributors who had previously addressed those who attended.

Bill Cutler, VDOT District Construction Manager, serving as emcee, said the Interchange project represented so many dreams of so many people, and that renderings drawn at the beginning of the project now illustrate its present.

He said tens of thousands of cars travel daily on US 29, and hundreds of thousands on I-66.  He said safety, congestion relief and future rail expansion make this a successful multi-modal project. He introduced Aubrey Layne, Virginia Secretary of Transportation, as the event’s keynote speaker.

Layne stated with all projects there is a pragmatic and fiduciary responsibility.  He said the project spanned three Virginia governors, starting with Tim Kaine, and carried on by Robert McDonnell and Terry McAuliffe, and was a bipartisan effort. 

It benefits rail and motor transportation, improves safety, while serving local motorists and commuters.  “It is a great day to be in Gainesville, Prince William County,” he concluded.

Cutler stated although a little work remains, the project is essentially complete.
 
“I am proud of VDOT,” said Senator Charles Colgan, the next speaker. In praising VDOT he spoke of “skilled hands.” He stated that engineers built the country and deserve praise for their good work on this project and elsewhere.

For more about this project and photos from the ceremony, see the Bull Run Observer’s July 17 edition.