VDOT seeks input on changes to Barracks Road near U.S. 29 interchange

The Virginia Department of Transportation has been studying the area around the intersection of U.S. 29 and Barracks Road to suggest future infrastructure improvements. An online survey is live until the end of March 8 to receive public input. (take the survey)

“Basically we’re looking at the corridor from Georgetown Road all the way to Emmet Street through the Barracks Road interchange,” said Chuck Proctor, a planner in VDOT’s Culpeper District.

One reason for the changes is to eliminate traffic congestion on the bypass when the ramps fill with vehicles waiting to get through the signalized intersections. 

One alternative is to replace the traffic signal at Barracks Road and Georgetown Road with a roundabout.

“In this particular we’re showing crosswalks across all of the lanes of the intersection and we’re also basically looking at showing a shared use path along all of the south side of the corridor,” Proctor said. 

Proctor said there are already sidewalks on the northern side. 

There are two options to address the ramp that lead from and to westbound U.S. 29 / U.S. 250. One would replace the traffic signal with a roundabout and the other would keep the signal but add a right-hand turn lane. These options are repeated again for the eastbound ramps except the non roundabout option would install an additional left hand turn lane from the off-ramp. 

“For this one we’re looking at a double roundabout option for these two intersections,” Proctor said. 

The pipeline study also created an option that would create a median from Georgetown to the interchange to stop left-hand turns from the side streets from Westminster Road to Bennington Road. 

“By doing that it will allow us to shift the roadway to the north a little bit, holding the northern sidewalk line and actually add a shared-use path along the south side of the corridor throughout the entire length to the interchange,” Proctor said. 

The alternative to that option would be to purchase right of way from property owners on the southern side to create a five-foot-wide sidewalk. 

Time is ticking to get an application for these projects ready for a Smart Scale application in Round 6. The pre-application window is open now and Proctor recommends the MPO submit an application for the roundabouts and that Albemarle County submit an application for the shared-use path. Proctor said there are currently no bike facilities on the corridor at all. 

“We’ll have to wait on the public comment before we finalize what the preferred alternative is, along with the shared-use path into the city,” Proctor said. 

The MPO will be asked to weigh on their preferred alternative at their next meeting on March 26. 

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