Road work leads to lane closures on I-95

Lane Ranger
Published: March 9, 2008

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced lane closures this week as part of the Interstate 95 fourth lane widening project between Exit 166, Fairfax County Parkway (Va. 7100) and Exit 160, Woodbridge, Va. 123.

For northbound motorists, the project will involve moving shoulder closures from Va. 123,  to Franconia/Springfield Parkway. Closures will occur Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.

For those going southbound, the project will involve a single left-lane closure between Franconia/Springfield Parkway to Lorton Road. The closure will occur Monday         through Thursday from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Commuter Larry W. Gray Jr.  asked Lane Ranger why VDOT isn't doing all of the I-95 work at night. VDOT spokesperson Steven Titunik said it's likely a manpower issue.

"You only have a certain amount of crews and there are functions that are assigned that have to be done by the end of that work period," Titunik said. "When we do these construction closures, we take into account the volume of traffic both northbound and southbound. We don't do this in a vacuum.That's why we don't do work past noon on Fridays."

VIRGINIA CRACKS DOWN ON TEEN DRINKING AND DRIVING

Teens in Virginia convicted of driving after consuming virtually any amount of alcohol will lose their driver's licenses for a year and be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if a bill passed today by Virginia's Senate becomes law.

An earlier version of the bill already passed Virginia's House of Delegates last month.

Proposing a doubling of the current driver's license suspension period (to one year) for teens convicted of driving with virtually any amount of alcohol in their systems as well as elevating such an already unlawful act to a Class 1 misdemeanor, Virginia's Senate passed House Bill 719 on a unanimous, 40-0 chamber vote.

"If signed into law, this is a tremendous strengthening of Virginia's zero-tolerance laws when it comes to drinking and driving by the very population too young to purchase, possess, consume and transport alcohol in the first place, Virginia's teens," said Kurt Gregory Erickson, President of the nonprofit and Virginia-based Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP).

Currently in Virginia, persons under 21 convicted of driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .02—but less than Virginia's current per se statute of .08 BAC when all drivers are presumed to be driving while intoxicated—are penalized with a six-month driver's license suspension and a "fine of not more than $500."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a 120-pound male or female would reach a BAC of .02 after consuming just one drink in one hour.

According to Virginia's Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services' 2005 Virginia Community Youth Survey,  76 percent of Virginia's high school seniors and 64 percent of the Commonwealth's 10th graders reported using alcohol. In addition, more than one-quarter (27.8 percent) of Virginia's 12th graders reported consuming five or more drinks in a row within the reporting period's past two weeks.

In addition and according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, alcohol-related traffic fatalities involving teens in the state went up 43-percent in 2006 —nearly tripling the rate of increase in such fatalities amongst all age drivers in Virginia.

Please send questions or comments on roads, rail and transit to: Lane Ranger, c/o Potomac News, P.O. Box 2470, Woodbridge, VA 22195; e-mail: .