Expressway Site Virginia US29

Virginia...

US 29:

Summary:

Segment	Type of Highway	Designated Arterial System?	View Pictures
Danville Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES	Picture (Gribblenation)
Danville to Chatham	4-lane Arterial	YES
Chatham Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES
Chatham to Gretna	4-lane Arterial	YES
Gretna Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES
Gretna to Hurt	4-lane Arterial	YES
Hurt / Altavista Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES	Picture (Gribblenation)
Altavista to US 460 West	4-lane Arterial / 4-lane Boulevard	YES
US 460 West to US 501	4-lane Freeway	YES	Pictures (Robert Jordan)
US 501 to US 460 East	4-lane Arterial	YES
US 460 East to Business US 29 north of Amherst	4-lane Freeway (Under Construction)	YES	Construction Pictures (Bruce Harper) Picture (Gribblenation)
Amherst to Lovingston	4-lane Arterial	YES
Lovingston Bypass	4-lane Expressway	YES
Lovingston to I-64	4-lane Arterial	YES	Picture (Gribblenation)
Charlottesville Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES	Pictures (AARoads)
Charlottesville Bypass to 6 miles north of US 250	4-8-lane Boulevard (Freeway bypass proposed)	YES	Pictures (AARoads)
6 miles north of US 250 to Madison	4-lane Arterial	YES	Pictures (AARoads)
Madison Bypass	4-lane Expressway	YES
Madison to Culpeper	4-lane Arterial	YES	Pictures (AARoads)
Culpeper Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES	Pictures (AARoads)
Brandy Station / Remington Bypass (US 522 at Culpeper to Business US 29 north of Remington)	4-lane Expressway	YES
Remington to Warrenton	4-lane Arterial	YES
Warrenton Bypass	4-lane Freeway	YES	Pictures (Adam Froehlig)
Warrenton to Gainesville	4-lane Arterial	YES
Gainesville to Washington DC	4-lane Boulevard	YES

Detailed Description:
A major north-south intrastate highway, US 29 traverses through over 200 miles in Virginia. By east coast standards, there is some spectacular mountain scenery from Lynchburg to Charlottesville. US 29 serves majors towns such as Danville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, and Warrenton, as well as the Washington DC metropolitan area in Northern Virginia. US 29 is part of the National Highway System from Greensboro, NC to I-66 in Gainesville. It is a major interregional corridor, connecting I-40/Business 85 in Greensboro to I-66 in Gainesville as well as serving the towns and cities in between. Because of this status, 99% of US 29 in Virginia has four or more lanes. The only 2-lane section is through Manassas National Battlefield where there is no ROW to add lanes. The segment through Manassas National Battlefield is not on the National Highway system since I-66 carries through traffic in this area.

US 29 bypasses almost every town along its route; however, the traffic increases as one heads into Charlottesville and northward. The traffic picks up considerably for motorists heading towards the greater Washington, DC area. Furthermore, the current urban freeway through Lynchburg is obsolete with high traffic volumes and development throughout US 29. The new Lynchburg-Madison Heights bypass is now open, and diverts US 29 traffic onto a new alignment going over the James River. The VA-130 Connector is intended to connect Monroe to the new bypass. Traffic on the rest of the rural segments of the highway may be speeding up as well. The Virginia legislature passed a law allowing for 60 mph speed limits on certain rural 4-lane highways, including US 29.

In Charlottesville, the existing highway has been widened to include six to eight lanes of aggravating traffic. The Charlottesville bypass is still in the planning stages, but a northward extension of the bypass is desirable since traffic is much worse in Charlottesville than in Lynchburg. An extension of the freeway north of Ruckersville or even to I-66 would also be desirable considering the high traffic volumes along the highway.

Junction Log:

Junction	Type of Access	Highway Type at Junction	Location
coming soon

History: (courtesy of Mike Roberson)

Future Improvements:
A 1997 study proposed that US 29 should be upgraded to a freeway from North Carolina to Lovingston and an expressway from Lovingston to Charlottesville. However, this is proposed only in a long-range and unfunded sense, and without any official approvals. A more detailed look at the study is available here.

Other proposed improvements include a Charlottesville Bypass and a South Lynchburg Bypass. (Note: Neither of the links lead to official websites. Both links lead to unofficial websites.)