Construction is set to begin this week on a federally funded safety project to widen portions of Route 3 in Spotsylvania County, according to a June 1 announcement from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The project, known as trench widening, will extend the pavement by one to three feet along both the right and left travel lanes within designated sections of Route 3. The additional space is intended to provide drivers with more room to recover if their vehicles leave the travel lanes, reducing the risk of run-off-the-road crashes and injuries.
Starting Tuesday, June 2, travelers should expect single lane closures along Route 3 eastbound between Route 20 (Constitution Highway) and Route 621 (Orange Plank Road), covering approximately 5.4 lane miles. On westbound Route 3, work will occur between Route 760 (Andora Drive/Corter Avenue) and Route 2349 (Montpelier Drive), spanning about 2.9 lane miles. A section previously reconstructed during a culvert installation at Lick Run in 2024 will not be widened again.
Work is expected to last around four weeks, weather permitting. Lane closures will be mobile and scheduled overnight or midday to avoid peak commuter hours. Updated schedules will be available through Virginia’s traffic management system and posted weekly online by VDOT every Friday afternoon. Crews plan first to excavate along pavement edges before milling and paving; temporary markings will precede permanent ones once work concludes.
Route 3 handles an average daily volume of approximately 34,000-35,000 vehicles within the project area based on a recent VDOT traffic count from earlier this year. The $974,671 project is funded through federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds with Superior Paving Corp serving as contractor.
Virginia Department of Transportation manages one of the nation’s largest state highway systems—including roads like those under construction for this project—and provides services such as highway maintenance and traffic management through systems like Virginia’s real-time traveler information service, according to the official website.
