Above, I'm standing on the Osborne Turnpike overpass bridge, looking west onto Route 895. Paving work is near completion on this section, with lines painted on the eastbound roadway. The overpass bridge in the distance is Wilton Road, and the toll plaza construction can be seen just beyond that, and in the distance can be seen the roadway under construction leading up to the Route 895 James River Bridge whose construction can be seen also. Highway sign installation is underway. Installation of toll collection equipment is underway, with vehicle testing of the electronic toll collection (ETC) system. I plan on having closer photos of the signs on next month's photo page. Cars and 2-axle vehicles will pay $1.50.

Above, I'm standing on the Osborne Turnpike overpass bridge, looking west onto Route 895. Similar vantage point to previous photo, but about 50 feet to the left, and taken a few minutes later.

Above, I'm standing on the Osborne Turnpike overpass bridge, looking east onto Route 895. Paving work is near completion on this section, with lines painted on the eastbound roadway. Highway sign installation is underway. The overpass bridge in the distance is the Laburnum Avenue Connection. This photo was taken in the same session as the previous two, from the same overpass bridge, a few minutes later.

Above, I'm standing on the Osborne Turnpike overpass bridge, looking east onto Route 895. This photo was taken from the same vantage point as the previous photo, taken a few minutes later, but with a 135mm (2.7x) telephoto lens instead of the 50mm regular lens used in previous photo.
The left overhead directional sign says "EAST 895 to NORTH 295".

Above, Osborne Turnpike, a local two-lane highway, was reconstructed so that Route 895 can pass underneath with Osborne Turnpike bridged over. This is the overpass bridge that I stood on to take the previous four photos. Why does this bridge have such wide shoulders? They look 22 feet wide, when 10 feet is the normal width for a full shoulder. With the light traffic that this semi-rural highway carries, it seems unlikely that it will need to be widened to four lanes within the next 20 years. My unconfirmed theory is that the designers put the extra width there as a "scenic overlook". It is not a scenic overlook in the normal sense, and it is not designated as such, but it makes a perfect and comfortable place to stop your car so that you can view the construction of Route 895 as well as the future completed highway, much more so than stopping on a standard 10-foot shoulder. I theorize that the private developers of this highway did this, knowing that citizens would want a convenient place to stop to view the highway, wanting them to do that so that the project team could "display their wares", and as you can see, the view from this overpass is excellent, with views of the highway, main toll plazas, and east end of the James River Bridge.

Next: Route 895 Construction - December 2001 - Photos 6-10

Lead page for Route 895 Construction - December 2001
Lead page for Route 895 Construction
Lead page for Route 895 Connector

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By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future