The new interchange planned at Ashland Road is envisioned to be a diverging diamond design.
Like the diverging diamond traffic pattern envisioned for both projects, Henrico and Goochland counties are taking crisscrossing paths toward securing new interchanges along Interstate 64 in and west of Short Pump.
Just days after Henrico received a needed federal nod for a new exit at North Gayton Road, its western neighbor won the remaining funding it needed for its own interchange at Ashland Road a couple miles west.
Now, Goochland will be seeking its own conditional approval for a diverging diamond design from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), while Henrico is working to line up the funding it needs for its diverging diamond interchange, noted Austin Goyne, Goochland’s transportation/environmental project manager.
“We kind of did it opposite of each other,” Goyne said Monday. “They got federal approval first and are now seeking money; we got the money and are now seeking that last little bit of federal approval.”
Goochland announced Monday that its $76 million project is fully funded through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale funding program, following adoption last week of VDOT’s Six Year Improvement Plan that puts just over $42 million toward the project. The remaining funding was previously secured through regional funds from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority.
The announcement came two weeks after Henrico held a press conference announcing the FHWA conditionally approved the diverging diamond design for Gayton and other plans to improve interstate safety and traffic flow in and around Short Pump. In addition to the Gayton interchange, the plans include modifications to the I-64 interchange at West Broad Street, just west of Innsbrook.
The diverging diamond interchange planned for Interstate 64 at North Gayton Road. (Henrico County images)
In remarks during the press conference, Three Chopt District Supervisor Tommy Branin called the approval “a major accomplishment in two respects.”
“It’s the fastest approval we’ve ever received from the FHWA. It also is the largest transportation and safety project this county has ever done in history,” he said.
Next steps include design and environmental studies, which Henrico officials have said are funded. Financing for construction would come later, involving a mix of county, state and federal funds.
The Gayton interchange is projected to cost $150 million, and the 64-Broad improvements are projected at $170 million, though overlap from combining both projects is expected to bring the total to $250 million.
Improvements to the 64-Broad Street interchange would include eliminating the southeast quadrant onramp.
Like Henrico, Goochland is aiming for its interchange to be a diverging diamond design, in which travel lanes temporarily cross sides in a manner meant to facilitate traffic flow. VDOT prefers the design, which involves fewer signals and facilitates pedestrian and bicycle crossings. Diverging diamonds have been installed at Zion Crossroads and the Route 250 interchange near Charlottesville.
Goochland has identified the Ashland Road interchange as its top county transportation priority. The project would widen Ashland Road to four lanes, add a second bridge over the interstate to accommodate the diverging diamond design, and is expected to open up economic development opportunities and improve traffic flow for 200 existing businesses in and around Rockville.
Austin Goyne
“We are looking forward to getting this interchange fixed permanently moving forward,” said Goyne. “It’s really going to open up upwards of 1,000 or so acres of prime economic development lands that are within the Goochland County corridor right there. We are really hoping that springboards a lot of good growth in that area.”
The interchange would also serve the 44-acre Project Rocky site, where California-based Panattoni Development Co. is planning a massive e-commerce fulfillment or distribution center. The facility, to be built off a 650,000-square-foot footprint, would be comparable to the 2.6-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center near Richmond Raceway.
The user for the Project Rocky facility has yet to be announced. A site plan for the project is under county review.
Goyne said the interchange would benefit the project but is not tied to it.
“They’re certainly not tied together at the hip,” he said. “They certainly do benefit each other. But they’re not conditional upon one another.”
Preliminary engineering work for the project is expected to last through 2025, with right-of-way acquisition scheduled in 2027 and construction in 2029-2030, according to Goochland’s website.
Both the Ashland Road and Gayton Road interchanges are about equidistant from the I-64/Route 288 interchange, where the two counties are also planning and collaborating on additional transportation improvements.
Desired improvements detailed in Henrico’s plans include additional lanes and expanded ramps on I-295 and Route 288.
Those improvements, detailed in Henrico’s conditionally approved plans, include additional lanes and ramp expansions for 288 near its Broad Street interchange in Goochland County, where backups also are frequent.
Goyne said Goochland is aiming to line up funding for those improvements and is working collaboratively with its neighbor to achieve a regional impact.
“There are some improvements listed in the Gayton document that are on Route 288 that are within Goochland County. We are hoping to submit funding applications for three of the projects in that Gayton document this fall,” Goyne said.
“We’re working with Henrico County to prioritize those projects, because they not only benefit Henrico County but they definitely benefit Goochland County as well.”
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