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Western By-pass
When Richard McNear said that the western by-pass is a greater threat to Rappahannock County than the proposed Disney theme park, he was quite right.
Mr. McNear was speaking at a meeting called by the Piedmont Environmental Council to familiarize concerned county citizens with PECs “Disney, Take a Second Look” campaign.
However, the Disney proposal is perhaps unfairly being saddled with revived interest in the western by-pass. Nothing in the plans Disney has announced requires a western by-pass.
During the recent election for governor, both candidates said they favored building a western by-pass. Those who favor such a road, mostly developers, are using the Disney proposal as an excuse to revive plans for the road.
The supposed purpose for this road is to get north and southbound through traffic that does not need to stop in Washington, D.C., around the city without using the Washington beltway.
If traffic wants to bypass Washington, D.C., for Baltimore, Philadelphia or Wilmington, then an eastern bypass makes much more sense and would be shorter.
For traffic bound to or from New York and New England, a western by-pass makes sense, but Interstate 81 is already that route, and indeed most northbound trucks heading for New York travel 1-81.
Then the problem becomes how to get traffic from ' Interstate 95 coming through Richmond, for example, to 1-81. • i Well, 1-64 does that, going west from Tidewater, through Richmond, to Charlottesville, Waynesboro and Staunton where it connects with 1-81. ;! For traffic traveling 1-95 to Fredericksburg, the next western interstate is 1-66, but the eastern end of that road is the Washington beltway.
However, the state is already planning an upgrade of Route 234 around Manassas to 1-66, and traffic could then go west to meet 1-81 at Strasburg.
The proposed western by-pass does not connect 1-95 to I81. Instead it would connect with 1-270 and/or 1-70 in Maryland. These roads come together in Frederick. 1-70 then meets 1-81 in Hagerstown, but these roads also lead east back to Washington and Baltimore.
Those who suspect this is a proposal, not to move northsouth traffic around Washington, but to encourage more western development are correct.
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