CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Chesterfield County leaders have announced they’ve reached a major milestone as work continues for the $65 million Route 10 road widening project in the Chester area.
This week, a new traffic signal activation at the intersection of Route 10 and Meadowville Road began in “flash mode” on the evening of Monday, Oct. 23, and then converted to full operation on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 25.
“This is the first restricted crossing U-turn, or as we call it Super Street Configuration, in the county,” Chessa Walker, the director of transportation for Chesterfield County, said. “It restricts the side street left turn and through movement. So, instead of making those movements from the side street, those have to now make a right turn movement at the signal from the side street and then make a downstream U-turn to then continue down the original destination.”
The project involves an eight-lane widening of Hundred Road between Bermuda Triangle Road and Meadowville Road. Meadowville Road from Hundred Road to Hogan’s Alley will be widened to six lanes. Traffic signals will be improved at the intersection of Hundred Road and Meadowville Road as well.
In July, 8News reported that the project had passed its contract completion date by a year.
Walker said it was supposed to wrap up in April 2022, but explained that the contractor had some delays during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Staffing through COVID. That took a hit to the schedule. Supply chain issues. There has been some rework that they’ve had to do to meet the quality of the contract that we’re requiring,” she said.
The delay caused many residents to wonder when the project will be completed.
“Very frustrating. Especially coming home in the evening and all you want to do is get home. It would be backed up for a hot minute just to turn right here,” Britani Frazier said.
Walker said they expect the eight lanes to open to traffic by the end of this year, and for the entire project to be completed in the spring.
Frazier said she’s happy to see the progress.
“It’s good to see that they’re finishing up and I think it’s going to help a lot of people,” she said.
Walker said Route 10 is a gateway to Interstate 95, Route 1 to the west and Interstate 295 to the east. She said the project is critical because this section of Route 10 is near an industrial park on the east end of the corridor –and with the new Lego facility coming to Chesterfield County, the county is preparing for even more heavy traffic.
According to Walker, the existing volume on the road is 55,000 vehicles a day. It’s projected to grow to over 100,000 vehicles a day 20 years from now.
“We’ve been working to improve it to extend the life of the intersection to provide some capacity into the future and make sure that we have a safe intersection,” she said.
