VDOT News - Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – An emergency repair project was completed today on Route 17 in Caroline County, and two-way traffic has been restored between Mount Road and Ware Creek Road.

Route 17 closed to traffic in February 2021 after a slope failed adjacent to the road, and a drainage pipe failed underneath the road. Traffic was detoured until March, when a temporary traffic signal was installed. The temporary signal allowed one lane to remain open while emergency repairs were underway.

Crews solidified the slope using special equipment, including a soil nail launcher. The equipment drilled holes beneath the road and inserted steel rods, which were covered with mesh wire net and anchored with bolts, and then covered with rip rap. Replacing the drainage pipe required boring about 150 feet underneath the road with a drilling machine.

On Friday, Oct. 22, motorists may encounter brief, intermittent flagging operations between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. as the project contractor retrieves equipment.

An average of 5,800 vehicles travel Route 17 in this area each day, according to a VDOT traffic count.

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VDOT’s 14-county Fredericksburg District includes the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford in the Fredericksburg area; Northumberland, Richmond, Lancaster and Westmoreland counties in the Northern Neck; Essex, Gloucester, King & Queen, King William, Mathews and Middlesex counties in the Middle Peninsula.