North Stafford residents said this week that they support an upcoming $12.5 million road project but that other improvements are needed, too.
Construction will begin later this month on work that will improve Route 1 at Telegraph Road and Woodstock Lane. The project will realign the intersection of Route 1 and Telegraph and widen Route 1 at Woodstock, allowing for a left-turn lane.
The goal is to alleviate traffic concerns and enhance safety, Stafford County officials say. They point out several benefits, including:
- Telegraph’s realignment will provide a better approach to a newly signalized intersection with Route 1
- Construction of dual left-turn lanes from Telegraph onto southbound Route 1 will increase turning capacity, thereby reducing delays
- The addition of a left-turn lane from Route 1 southbound onto Woodstock will provide a separate space for vehicles, distinct from Route 1 through traffic
- A concrete median to be installed on Route 1 at Woodstock will restrict turning movements and improve intersection safety.
The project is slated to be done in three six-month phases, ending in the fall of 2026.
Mark O’Quinn, who lives on Woodstock, said at a meeting about the project Monday that he’d like transportation officials to come out and meet with the community on site.
He said he’s not against the Route 1 project but is concerned about the safety of making vehicle turns in the area.
Right now, for example, O’Quinn can’t safely make a right turn from Woodstock onto Telegraph to go south if he’s driving his truck and camper. School buses can’t navigate that turn, either, and can only go left, he said. Woodstock also needs to be widened, O’Quinn said.
Adam Derrick, Stafford’s transportation engineering and construction manager, said the county plans to widen Woodstock, adding about three feet on each side of the road.
In addition, O’Quinn said the county should examine safety issues in the entire Route 1 corridor, from north of Woodstock to south of Telegraph.
Derrick noted that the current project focuses only on the two Route 1 intersections.
“But,” he said, “I hear you. We will absolutely look into safety.”
He also noted that Stafford’s transportation division is expanding.
“Stafford County is growing and becoming a much larger county, and we’re putting efforts in to make these improvements,” he said. “That’s why we have all these projects coming up.”
After Monday’s meeting, Jim Martin, who lives in the project area with his wife, Denise, said he thinks the work will be beneficial.
“I mean, overall, I think it definitely will be helpful,” he said, “especially at the intersection of Telegraph and Route 1, where they’re going to have two left-turn lanes onto Route 1.”
The Martins also welcomed news that the Virginia Department of Transportation will be repaving Telegraph. They brought photos of the road’s deteriorating asphalt to the meeting.
“I’m happy to hear that they’re going to pave it,” Jim Martin said.
Also after the meeting, O’Quinn struck up a conversation with other county residents outside Stafford’s administrative building. He reiterated his concern for safety in the Route 1 corridor.
“Driving on that stretch of road is taking your life in your own hands,” he said.
