Route 208 Traffic Shift Starts Thursday

Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kelly Hannon said that the traffic shift on Route 208 in Spotsylvania County will start Thursday in the middle of the afternoon. 

"Traffic will be shifted onto a new two-lane portion of roadway that has been constructed between Robert E. Lee Drive and Post Oak Road, a distance of approximately four miles," she said in a statement.

Traffic will enter the new travel lanes about a quarter mile west of Robert E. Lee Drive. The new segment of the Spotsylvania Courthouse Bypass ends at the intersection of Post Oak Road, across from Spotsylvania High School. Hannon said Block House Road will connect with Route 208 at a new intersection with a traffic signal. The intersection has been relocated approximately one-tenth of mile north of the current intersection. The speed limit on the new segment of roadway is posted at 55 miles per hour.

"The new travel lanes provide a straighter, flatter and wider path for vehicles compared with the existing Route 208," she said.

She said traffic will have to be halted for a brief period in each direction on Route 208 for no more than 10 minutes. If there is inclement weather, the shift will begin on Friday.

This is the second phase of the Spotsylvania County Bypass.

"Construction continues on the remainder of the project, from Post Oak Road to just west of the Ta River. Work is expected to be completed in 2013," Hannon said.