Transportation officials address a group of about 40 citizens who showed up Wednesday afternoon at the Stryker Center in Williamsburg to learn about the Route 199 Corridor Study. Courtesy of Brittany McBride Nichols/VDOT

Motorists usually sail along smoothly for most of the 14 miles of Virginia State Route 199, but there’s a stretch between Brookwood Drive and John Tyler Highway where congestion is all but guaranteed, especially during peak travel hours.

The Virginia Department of Transportation and design consultant Kimley-Horn are proposing some novel changes to the artery and its intersecting streets, and officials want feedback from locals about which solutions they prefer.

In two public information meetings Wednesday, Kimley-Horn project manager Danielle McCray told citizens and policymakers that analysis has revealed several problems that stem from high volumes of traffic in the area.

Two more meetings are scheduled early next week.

“Citizen input matters,” said Williamsburg Vice Mayor Pat Dent.

The section of Route 199 that is being studied by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Courtesy of VDOT

Currently, drivers must wait for extended periods of time, often through multiple cycles of traffic signals, to proceed through the congested intersections. Westbound traffic on Route 199 (Humelsine Parkway) backs up to College Creek from the Brookwood Drive intersection during peak hours. By 2045, that queue could extend 1.5 miles to the Colonial Parkway. Already lengthy wait times at other traffic signals would likewise increase significantly.

Heavy volumes have also created a high number of crashes. Between 2015 and 2019, there were a total of 146 collisions in and around the four intersections in the study. At the intersection of John Tyler Highway (Route 5) and Route 199, two of the crashes involved bicyclists, and one was a pedestrian fatality. Creating equitable and safe access for pedestrians, bicycles and mass transit vehicles along the corridor is also a goal of proposed improvements.

Kimley-Horn project manager Danielle McCray told citizens and policymakers that analysis has revealed several problems that stem from high volumes of traffic along a stretch of Route 199. Courtesy of VDOT

Streets adjacent to the study area are seeing spillover effects from all the traffic. Tessa and Ron Millis live along John Tyler Lane, which many motorists use to bypass the congestion on Route 199 and cut through to Jamestown Road. During periods of heavy traffic, a long line of vehicles backs up on John Tyler Lane.

“When we discuss where we live, people say ‘Oh, the cut-through road,’” said Ron Millis, who attended the public meeting Wednesday evening with his wife, Tessa.

“Drivers pay no attention to John Tyler Lane being in a neighborhood,” Tessa Millis added.

Tessa Millis called the existing traffic patterns around John Tyler Lane a “crisscross” and said that heavy development in the New Town area, without attendant traffic improvements, has led to clogged roads.

After the meeting, the Millises said they are optimistic that some of the proposed designs can move vehicles through the intersections faster and alleviate some of the headaches the congestion is causing on the side streets.

“It’s like chess,” Ron Millis said. “You have to think a few moves ahead.”

VDOT traffic engineer Rossie Carroll told attendees that in the past decade VDOT has put a few Band-Aids on Route 199′s congestion problems, such as adding turn lanes, making intersection improvements and synchronizing traffic signals.

“There’s not much more we can do,” Carroll said.

The proposed changes would be somewhat of a departure from improvements that most motorists are likely used to, instead offering several designs that VDOT calls “innovative intersections and interchanges.”

McCray said that a priority with these proposals is to minimize disruptions to surrounding homes and businesses and, whenever possible, to prevent roadways from expanding beyond their current footprint.

At the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Route 199, one proposed alternative would do away with through movements on Brookwood Drive from south of Route 199 to the north. Instead, motorists would make U-turns at through-cuts.

Left turns would be eliminated off of Jamestown Road at its intersection with Route 199. One proposal creates a new connector roadway north of the CVS Pharmacy to reroute traffic. Another alternative introduces a so-called “bowtie,” with two roundabouts on Jamestown Road north and south of Route 199.

Alternatives at the intersection of John Tyler Highway and Route 199 propose a model called partial displaced left turns, with additional turn lanes and a traffic signal or a roundabout where Strawberry Plains Road and John Tyler Lane meet John Tyler Highway.

The proposed designs can be viewed online at vaprojectpipeline.org/studies/hampton-roads/hr05-route-199---humelsine-parkway.asp.

The Route 199 Corridor Study is part of the Project Pipeline Program, a statewide initiative to identify cost-effective improvements for specific, multimodal transportation needs, which may be funded if they meet certain criteria. The proposed Route 199 improvements have not yet been funded. If all goes well, construction is about eight years away.

VDOT spokeswoman Brittany McBride Nichols said that VDOT is soliciting public input much earlier for these proposals than is common for other projects. Typically, the public is invited to comment during the design phase, which comes later.

Williamsburg city leaders are encouraging the public to come learn about the proposed solutions at two more public information meetings next week. Dent said that he knows how frustrating backups along that stretch of Route 199 can be because he drives the road often.

Dent said he hopes that his neighbors don’t think that VDOT will go their own way with this project. He said that the city will be one of the partners helping to fund improvements, and any final designs must be amenable to residents.

The additional VDOT public input meetings about the Route 199 Corridor Study are scheduled for Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Laurel Lane Elementary School, 112 Laurel Lane, and Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. at the Williamsburg Community Building, 401 North Boundary St.

Comments will be accepted through September 30, 2022, and can be submitted to Jerry Pauley, Virginia Department of Transportation, 7511 Burbage Dr., Suffolk, VA 23435, or via email at jerry.pauley@vdot.virginia.gov.

Ben Swenson, ben.swenson05@gmail.com