CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – If you drive through the Hydraulic Road and U.S. 29 intersection, heads up—starting Monday, Aug. 26, you’ll need to adjust your route. Left turns from Hydraulic Road onto U.S. 29 will no longer be allowed. This traffic change is just one part of a larger project to improve the U.S. 29 and Hydraulic Road area.

• No More Left Turns: After Sunday night, you won’t be able to turn left from either direction of Hydraulic Road onto U.S. 29.
• New Traffic Flow: You can still go straight or turn right onto U.S. 29. If you need to head north or south on U.S. 29, you’ll need to take a different route
  • Eastbound on Hydraulic: To go north on U.S. 29, go straight and use the new roundabout at Hillsdale Drive to make a U-turn
  • Westbound on Hydraulic: To go south on U.S. 29, turn onto Hillsdale Drive and follow it to Seminole Court, or make a U-turn at the Seminole Court intersection.

What’s Being Added:

• New Roundabout: The roundabout at Hydraulic Road and Hillsdale Drive is now open. This will help with the new traffic flow and make it easier to navigate the area.
• Pedestrian Safety: VDOT is adding crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and street lighting at the intersection to make it safer for those on foot. There will also be a pedestrian refuge island to give walkers a safe spot in the middle of the road.
• Access Changes: Improvements are being made to how you get on and off Hydraulic Road at Brandywine Drive and Michie Drive. This should help ease some of the traffic headaches in those areas.
• Future Pedestrian Bridge: A pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29 near Zan Road is also in the works. This will include bus stops and make it easier for people to cross safely.

Why It’s Happening:

All these changes are part of a $24 million project funded through the SMART SCALE program, aimed at reducing congestion, improving safety, and make it easier to walk, bike, or take the bus in the area.

Listen to Will Stowe, VDOT’s project manager overseeing the changes, as he talks with Jay James about the project:

The full VDOT release is below:

TRAFFIC PATTERN TO CHANGE AT HYDRAULIC ROAD AND U.S. 29

Left turns from Hydraulic Rd. onto U.S. 29 will be eliminated Aug. 26

 

CULPEPER — Beginning Monday morning, Aug. 26, drivers will encounter a significant traffic pattern change at the intersection of Route 743 (Hydraulic Road) and U.S. 29 (Seminole Trail) in the city of Charlottesville. The left turns from eastbound and westbound Hydraulic Road onto U.S. 29 (Seminole Trail) will be eliminated.

Overnight Sunday, Aug. 25, crews will reconfigure the traffic signals to reflect the new traffic pattern. During this work, drivers should use caution approaching the intersection, obey all traffic controls and stay alert for workers in and near the travel lanes.

By rush hour Monday morning, the new traffic pattern will be in place. In the new configuration, only through and right-turn movements will be allowed on Hydraulic Road at U.S. 29.

After the reconfiguration, eastbound Hydraulic Road drivers who wish to turn north onto U.S. 29 can instead continue through the intersection and use the new roundabout at Hillsdale Drive to perform a U-turn, then turn north on U.S. 29.

Hydraulic Road westbound drivers who wish to travel south can instead turn right onto Hillsdale Drive toward Seminole Court, turn left, and then left again to reach southbound U.S. 29. Alternatively, drivers can continue straight through the new roundabout and turn right onto U.S. 29 north, and then make a U-turn at the Seminole Court intersection to reach U.S. 29 south.

Drivers who use the Hydraulic Road and U.S. 29 intersection should allow for extra travel time while VDOT works to calibrate the signal timing.

The traffic pattern changes at Hydraulic Road and U.S. 29 will help relieve congestion along the U.S. 29 corridor. In addition to the traffic signal reconfiguration, VDOT will install:

• a pedestrian refuge island,
• ADA ramps,
• street lighting at crosswalks,
• and pedestrian signal poles, and crosswalks on the south leg of the intersection and the Hydraulic Road approaches to improve mobility and safety for pedestrians.

The reconfigured intersection is one of four transportation improvements combined into a single design-build project to improve congestion, safety, and multi-modal access in the area. The other project elements include:

• the recently completed roundabout at Hydraulic Road and Hillsdale Drive,
• the improvements under way to manage access on westbound Hydraulic Road at Brandywine Drive and Michie Drive,
• and a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29 with bus stops for future service near Zan Road.

The transportation improvements are funded for a combined $24 million through the SMART SCALE process. For more information about the project elements, visit Hydraulic Road and U.S. 29 transportation improvements.

Updates on Culpeper District activities are on the district’s Facebook page and Twitter account, @VaDOTCulp. For questions or to report hazardous road conditions, the public should contact VDOT’s 24-hour Customer Service Center by visiting my.vdot.virginia.gov or calling 800-FOR-ROAD (367-7623).

Current traffic conditions, VDOT’s statewide network of traffic cameras and other real-time travel information is on the 511Virginia website. That information is also available on the free VDOT 511 mobile app or by calling 511 from any phone in Virginia.

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VDOT’s Culpeper District includes the counties of Albemarle, Culpeper, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock. The independent city of Charlottesville maintains its own roads.