UPDATE: Lane closings, pattern shift mark prep for a completed South Fork Bridge

Get used to it – a trial run of the South Fork Bridge Quadrant Roadway Intersection is now scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 23; below, shot of QRI lanes from Strasburg Rd. intersection on Oct. 19. Graphics/VDOT website – Photos/Roger Bianchini

UPDATE: Schedule QRI-lane pattern shift is now scheduled to begin Monday, October 23, not Thursday, Oct. 19. That and other planned lane closings to accommodate work may change again. Just be aware that the traffic patterns are changing several times in coming days.

On Tuesday, October 17, Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley alerted county drivers to lane closures and one traffic pattern change proceeding through this and into next week in preparation for the planned full six-lane opening of the South Fork Bridge in and out of Front Royal’s northside later this year.  Four of the five traffic pattern changes involve lane closures – the first of which occurred earlier the day of Stanley’s briefing at the board of supervisors meeting – other planned lane closings are listed below.

The biggest change, originally announced for Thursday, October 19, but now slated to begin Monday, October 23, will shift traffic traveling on and off Route 55 West (Strasburg Road) onto the new Quadrant Roadway Intersection (QRI) lanes – those are the horseshoe-shaped lanes between the bridge and Strasburg Road/Route 55.

It is a traffic shift that will introduce drivers to at least a portion of the permanent pattern shift planned once the new bridge is completed.  That shift is designed to eliminate left turns at the Route 340 and Route 55 intersection just past the north end of the bridge.  Work to facilitate full utilization of the QRI is scheduled for completion in mid-November, about two weeks before the target bridge completion date of December 1.

While it may take some getting used to, VDOT’s vision is a reduction of the high-volume traffic period backups that driver’s are now experiencing.  We still suggest a visit to the VDOT website* to see an animated explanation of the traffic patterns utilizing the quadrant intersection off the bridge’s northwest side.

That said, how the new pattern will be received during low-traffic volume periods remains to be seen – particularly for southbound drivers on Route 340 wishing to turn left into Riverton.  Northbound traffic headed west on Route 55 will simply make their left a few hundred feet south of the 340/55 intersection onto the QRI at the new traffic light on the bridge.

How this traffic pattern will play for southbound drivers wishing to access Riverton, especially during low-traffic volume periods remains to be seen; below, approaching the QRI intersection southbound – if you’re going to Riverton get ready to make a right and another right.

As we understand at this time, the initial QRI pattern shift is for both east and westbound traffic to facilitate roadwork on Route 55 between the quadrant lanes and the intersection with Route 340.

Upon completion the South Fork Bridge will become the longest and widest bridge in VDOT’s Staunton District; a district comprising much of the western part of the state.

In addition to the now planned October 23 QRI pattern shift for traffic in and out of Strasburg Road/Route 55, coming lane closures include (as stated above, be aware dates may change to match work schedule):

• a single-lane closure north and southbound on Route 340 on Wednesday, October 18 to facilitate milling and the layout for the traffic switch;
• a southbound, single right-lane closure for Hunt Valley is planned for Friday, Oct. 20;
• from Monday, Oct. 23 to Friday, Oct. 27, the southbound single right-lane closure for Hunt Valley will be re-established and a northbound single left-lane closure for median construction on Route 340 will be added.

Good luck and happy driving over the South Fork of Virginia’s historic Shenandoah River.

* Footnote: To access the video on the VDOT website (virginiadot.org), click on “Projects”; then “Staunton District”; then “Warren County-Quadrant Roadway Intersection”; then the “South Fork Bridge” link in text under Warren County QRI sub-headline below graphics; click link under “Project Details” and click “Play” on the 2^nd of 3 videos.

A closer view of the QRI intersection with the South Fork Bridge from Strasburg Rd.