Prepping for new South Fork Bridge traffic patterns

Artist’s conception of the completed intersection at Route 340/522 and Route 55 West (Strasburg Rd.) at the north end of the under-construction South Fork Bridge at the northern entrance to the Town of Front Royal.

It appears that design parameters involving the intersections at the north side of the new South Fork Bridge will make Front Royal drivers, rush-hour commuters in particular, guinea pigs in a traffic-pattern experiment designed to keep heavy traffic moving more efficiently with less backups.

“So, we’ll be either famous OR infamous.” — was the reaction of Warren County Board of Supervisors Chair Linda Glavis to information that the Quadrant Roadway Intersection (QRI) design connecting Route 55 East (Strasburg Road) and the still-under-construction South Fork Bridge will be a first of its kind throughout the United States.

Southbound traffic (blue lines) on Route 522 wishing to access Riverton will travel thru the Route 522-55 intersection, onto the bridge and a right onto the new loop access to Strasburg Road, where a second right turn (red lines) will move traffic east into Riverton. Outbound traffic from Riverton heading south into Front Royal will duplicate that pattern in reverse, with a final right turn onto the bridge.

A power-point presentation on the design; its rationale and traffic flow patterns was presented to Warren County officials earlier this fall.  VDOT engineer Terry Short explained the design placing a left turn lane OFF the bridge for northbound traffic is envisioned to eliminate ALL left turns at the Route 522 and Route 55 intersection just past the north end of the bridge.  The final two lanes of the six-lane structure are still under construction, with a projected completion date of late 2017.

Short predicted the new traffic patterns will initially be unpopular – our guess is especially during low-traffic flow periods.  However, he added that while it may take some getting used

Eastbound traffic on Strasburg Road wishing to travel north, will turn right onto the new loop access road; and then left at the loop intersection light on the bridge to travel north on Route 522.

to, computer models indicate the design and traffic patterns SHOULD reduce intersection backups and keep northside traffic moving much more efficiently 100 years into the future.

The photos attached to this story are from animated video on the VDOT website. To access the video, click on Projects; on Staunton District; on WC-South Fork Bridge Replacement; and scroll down to the “Benefits of Project” subsection video.  You can forward through the 19-minute presentation to the relevant section on the QRI intersection and projected time saving beginning at the 8:45 minute mark.

Before & After – Coordinated signaling in the Quadrant Roadway Intersection system eliminating left turns at Route 522-55 intersection are forecast to reduce future rush-hour, southbound backups from across the North Fork Bridge (yellow lines above) with traditional designs; back to only Duck Street in the Quadrant system (yellow lines, solid & dotted below).

That information projects time savings, albeit in the year 2036, of 76 percent in the total time it takes to move through a QRI intersection versus a traditional signalized intersection.  Other projected benefits are a 24-percent reduction in system-wide travel time; a 43-percent reduction in system-wide delays; and a 57-percent improvement in average travel speed through the intersection.
Upon completion the South Fork Bridge will be the widest and longest bridge in VDOT’s Staunton District – and if you think traffic backups are bad during rush hours now, just try imagining 20 to 50 years and beyond into our, or at least our community’s, traffic future – BUT maybe we will have the FLYING CARS we’ve been promised through decades of science fiction by then … MAYBE.