199 Repaving Update

199 Repaving Update

By Sam Thrift Monday, September 19, 2011

The construction signs and rough terrain that have become commonplace after about two months of repaving on Route 199 in Williamsburg should disappear by November, according to the Virginia Department Of Transportation.

Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation in July directing VDOT to test quiet-pavement technologies to see how well they perform after two winters. A portion of Route 199, along with five other test areas, was chosen to be a guinea pig. Work was moving along quickly, and though there have been some delays construction is still expected to be complete in November.

The “Quiet Pavement Technology” pilot project, according to VDOT spokeswoman Lauren Hansen, utilizes several different asphalt mixes to study if the pavement will reduce noise generated by tires on pavement.

Route 199 was selected because it was already slated for repaving this summer, making it an ideal candidate for the project, according to a press release from VDOT.

On July 5, VDOT crews began working overnight to mill and pave the road, but weather and equipment delays recently caused some setbacks, according to VDOT spokeswoman Nora Chivers.

Before crews can place the quiet pavement, the roads have to be milled and a base layer of asphalt normally used in repaving has to be applied. In order to test the effectiveness of the three different paving materials being used, a standard surface mix will be used as a “baseline” by which the other pavements can be studied, according to Hansen.

“When the project began, the contractor immediately began paving all of the ramps and loops at all of the interchanges along the Route 199 study area,” said Hansen. “That work is complete and the contractor is now beginning to put down the test sections of the quiet pavement.”

Chivers said motorists can expect raw pavement and milled pavement through completion, and should drive cautiously in those areas.

VDOT will report the project findings to the General Assembly in June 2012, including the plan for routine implementation of the asphalt, cost and performance results identified during the study.

Comments

+1 #6 Guest 2011-09-20 07:42

Well my new left front tire has developed a slow leak thanks to hitting that bump several times a day on the longhill exit ramp. VDOT you OWE me.

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+1 #5 Guest 2011-09-19 19:52

hard to say which is worse at this point.....199 or ironbound. so much for shovel ready projects. Quite embarassing.

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+2 #4 Guest 2011-09-19 19:46

I'm glad to finally see attention being brought to the mess of 199...whoever is supervising the project and continues to allow the outrageous "bumps" on and off of 199, needs to be reprimanded. Just as other people have stated tire, alignment and I'll had wheel damage can occur. It is dangerous to try and slow down to protect your car when there are cars at 60mph right on your bumper. Do the paving people not know how to apply a gradual layer of pavement on and off of 199 so that we as tax payers do not have damage to our cars.......it has been months and for those of us that drive this route everyday....... .it is just ridiculous.

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+12 #3 Guest 2011-09-19 10:22

Driving 199 at night in the areas under construction, especially in the rain, is treacherous right now. The white lines are not visible (if/when they exist) on the side of the roads and in many areas the lane dividers are not visible either. I now avoid 199 at night.

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+9 #2 Guest 2011-09-19 07:43

The portion of pavement that is left open on the exits, such as Longhill Road coming off 199 is awful! You can't slow down when you have cars right on your bumper. If I have to realine my frontend, I plan to send the bill to VDOT!

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+13 #1 Guest 2011-09-19 07:24

I wish they would work a little more on the "bumps" by the bridges on the on/off ramps. Some of the "bumps" are rather severe. I tired of ruining my alignment and tires on the "bumps".

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