May 2024

From Tammy Purcell's Engage Louisa, "motorists traveling through Wares Crossroads will see a significant change this week.

According to a press release from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the intersection of Routes 522 (Zachary Taylor Highway) and 208 (New Bridge Road) will transition to a long-awaited roundabout configuration early in the week, marking a major milestone in the department’s effort to improve safety and ease congestion at the intersection.

On Monday, May 20, VDOT contractors will begin the switch. Starting at 7:30 am until the job is complete, flagging crews will be in the intersection to direct traffic while workers install signs and pavement markings for the new roundabout, per the VDOT release. By Tuesday, the configuration will be in place, and drivers should be prepared to yield to traffic inside the roundabout.

Once the intersection transitions to a roundabout, contractors will install the inner circle, concrete median islands and outside shoulder. The project is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2025."

January 2024

Construction of a long-anticipated roundabout at the intersection of Route 522 (Zachary Taylor Highway) and Route 208 (New Bridge Road) near Lake Anna began in early 2024, and is scheduled to wrap up by December 2024. The Wares Crossroads intersection is one of Louisa County’s most dangerous sections of roadway. Between January 2022 and December 2023, 16 crashes occurred at or pproaching the intersection resulting in 16 injuries, according to VDOT data.

Wares Crossroads Roundabout Construction To Start

An update was provided by VDOT to the Louisa Board of Supervisors in December 2023 indicating construction of the long-anticipated roundabout at the intersection of Route 522 (Zachary Taylor Highway) and Route 208 (New Bridge Road) near Lake Anna will begin early in January 2024 and wrap up by December 2024.  Please see the entire article from Tammy Purcell’s Engage Louisa report.

A construction contract has been awarded for $2,876,199.01 to J.L. Kent & Sons, Inc. of Spotsylvania who will replace the existing intersection with a single-lane roundabout.  A Site Plan application was recently approved by Louisa County Community Development permitting the placement of a construction trailer at 4917 Zachary Taylor Hwy in support of the construction.  One can only hope that this, along with an uptick in surveying activity around the intersection lately, indicate at long last the beginning of the much needed intersection improvement.

There is a project page on the VDOT site at this link  https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/culpeper/522_208roundabout.asp

HISTORY

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is in the Design phase of a new “traffic circle” at the intersection of New Bridge Road (Route 208) and Zachary Taylor Highway (Route 522) at Dickinson’s Store in the Ware's Crossroads community.  The DOT Report to the Louisa County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 20, 2021 indicated that  “Scoping” was completed and the next phase of “detailed design” was underway.  They should finish this phase in the coming year and will then hold a Public Hearing on the proposal.  Then, they will proceed with the Right-of–Way phase in 2022 with construction slated for 2023.  Estimated costs are:

                  Design $   950,000 

                  Right-of Way  $1,050,000

                  Construction  $3,400,000

                  Total Cost       $5,400,000

This “traffic control device” was arrived at after many years of study,  planning and unfortunately deaths.  A notable occurrence in 2014 was a traffic death in which one of the survivors launched a campaign to install a traffic light.  VDOT conducted traffic volume counts over several days and concluded that the traffic volumes did not meet the “warrants” required by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to install a traffic signal or a flashing light.

All of this information was delivered at a VDOT Public Hearing in June of 2015.  They recommended, and ultimately implemented, highway lane improvements to help increase safety until a roundabout could be constructed.  There were two interim changes made to facilitate safer traffic flow: off-set the right turn lane on Zachary Taylor Highway turning onto New Bridge Road and realignment of the right turn lane on New Bridge Road onto Zachary Taylor Highway.

Another option to be considered was to lower the speed limit on Zachary Taylor Highway through this entire area. Immediately, LACA petitioned the Culpeper District of VDOT to lower the speed limit to 45 MPH, which was achieved within 4 months.

For more information, please see the documents posted in our Land Use Library.