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Rt. 17 ban
to be lifted?
By DAPHNE HUTCHINSON
Rappahaitiwek Newa Staff Writer
In response to concerns raised by the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors over safety hazards posed by increased truck traffic on Route 522, highway officials are now planning to re-open Route 17 in Fauquier County to tractor-trailers upon completion of the final 1.5 miles of dual-laning near Marshall, expected late next summer.
“We have re-analyzed the situation, and right now we don’t plan to delay the re-opening of Route 17 until the spur (to divert traffic around the town of Warrenton) is completed,” said District Engineer Thomas Farley in a telephone interview Tuesday.
According to Mr. Farley, the decision represents a compromise between the competing interests of Warrenton and Rappahannock County. “We have two opposing points of view. . .There’s concern on the pvt of the town to avoid having trucks use Business 29. The town wants the ban continued until the spur is built to link Route 17 with the Warrenton bypass. They don’t want trucks mixing with the other traffic through town. We all know that does create problems. ”
On the other hand, the district engineer continued, the Rappahannock supervisors want an end to heavier traffic on Route 522 as a result of the ban on Route 17.
“So we recently agreed that the better action would be to wait until the northern section of Route 17 near Marshall is dual-laned” and then lift the ban, Mr. Farley said. But he emphasized that this is a consensus of the moment. “There’s no such thing as an absolute answer (on when Route 17 will
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