US-58 Widening and Bypasses in Mecklenburg County

Four-lane widening and relocation improvements have been completed in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, on 32.5 miles of US-58 from west of Clarksville to east of South Hill. The Clarksville Bypass groundbreaking ceremonies were held on June 29, 2000, and the bypass fully opened on June 9, 2005. The South Hill Bypass was opened on November 4, 1999, and the entire project was completed on August 2, 2000. The 4-lane 1.5-mile-long Boydton Bypass is complete; the first two lanes of the US-58 Boydton Bypass was built on a limited access 4-lane right-of-way and was opened in 1980, and the parallel roadway was completed in 1992. The rest of the existing 2-lane US-58 has been widened to 4 lanes divided by building a parallel 2-lane roadway, and by rebuilding the existing 2-lane roadway, and of that 22 miles, 19 miles was completed to 4 lanes from Summer 1998 to July 2001. One widening project was delayed due to funding, the 3.5 miles from 1/2 mile west of the US-1/US-58 intersection at Big Fork, to the west end of the South Hill Bypass, and this project was placed under construction in March of 2002, at a construction cost of $10 million, and it was completed in October of 2004.

Both roadways are 24 feet wide with 8-foot-wide paved right shoulders and 3-foot-wide paved left shoulders, and a standard 40-foot-wide median, with a wider median in a few places. The entire 32.5-mile-long corridor expansion is costing $244.5 million for engineering, right-of-way and construction. The completion of these projects means that US-58 is four lanes divided throughout for 232 miles, from west of Stuart in Patrick County, to I-64 in the City of Chesapeake. Ultimately the section of US-58 between Stuart and I-77 at Hillsville, will be rebuilt to four lanes divided.

Above, looking eastbound, Long Branch bridges ahead; about 4 miles east of Boydton. Construction of the new westbound roadway is in the stage of laying subgrade for asphalt paving. Construction of the new westbound Long Branch bridge is complete. Photo taken in September 1998. Click the photo for a May 1999 photo from the same vantage point. A "drill down" sequence will take you through 6 photos showing the phases of construction to the completion in 2000.

Above, looking eastbound, completed highway expansion, Cox Creek bridges ahead; about 4 miles west of the US-1/US-58 intersection at Big Fork. Photo taken in February 2001.

The 3.5 miles of US-58 four-lane widening just west of South Hill cost of $10 million for construction. The speed limit is 55 mph throughout. Most of the project (about 2.7 miles) has five 12-foot-wide lanes, with the center lane for left turns only.  The intersection with US-1 at Big Fork has been rebuilt so that US-58 is the through route, and US-1 curves and junctions at a T-intersection with US-58. The curve on US-58 at Big Fork has been built to a 55 mph design speed. From the US-1 intersection to the west end of the project (about 0.8 mile), the new highway has 4 lanes with a median 40 feet wide. The whole project has 10-foot paved right shoulders. Near the west end of the project, US-58 crosses Miles Creek, and a new westbound 2-lane bridge was built and the original 2-lane bridge was demolished and a new 2-lane bridge was built for eastbound traffic. The west end of the project seamlessly ties into the US-58 highway that was dualized in 2001. The east end of the project seamlessly ties into the 5.2-mile-long, $35.1 million US-58 South Hill Bypass that was opened in 2000.

US-58 Mecklenburg Widening and Bypasses - Photos - my article with construction photos of the widening projects and bypasses.

Clarksville Bypass

The 5.3-mile-long Clarksville Bypass is costing $103.3 million for construction, engineering and right-of-way, and it includes 11 bridges, including a 4,800-foot-long bridge over the John H. Kerr Reservoir (also known as Buggs Island Lake), a 492-foot-long bridge over the Clarksville small boat harbor, and twin bridges over the Occoneechee Harbor (Sandy Creek). The bypass passes just south of the town limits of Clarksville, and it is a 4-lane limited access highway, with interchanges at US-15 south of Clarksville and US-15 east of Clarksville, and two other at-grade intersections. The bypass carries US-58 and VA-49 along its whole length. Each transition from existing US-58 to the new bypass forms a continuous seamless highway from existing to new, with the existing highway being connected to the new via a T-intersection west of the town, and east of the town via a directional interchange that includes a flyover for westbound traffic. The project includes 1.0 mile of 4-lane reconstruction of US-58 west of the west end of the bypass, and 0.7 mile of 4-lane dualization east of the east end of the bypass, for a total project length of 7.0 miles.

A VDOT news release on April 20, 2000 announced the contract award for the entire Clarksville Bypass: "A $72.4 million contract was awarded to Morse Diesel Civil, LLC of Lawrenceville, NJ to build the Route 58 Clarksville Bypass in Mecklenburg County. The 5.1-mile limited access highway will extend from Route 722 to Route 15 North, and includes a new steel bridge over Buggs Island Lake. The project is funded under the Route 58 Corridor Development Program, and the scheduled completion is May 2003".

Above image is the Line 9 alignment for the Clarksville Bypass, from VDOT Location Public Hearing brochure, June 11, 1991. This alignment was presented as approved in the VDOT Design Public Hearing brochure, January 15, 1997. Click the image for a large version (204K) of image.

Route 58 Clarksville Bypass - VDOT webpage about the project.

Clarksville Bypass Project Website - www.clarksvillebypass.com. "This site contains information concerning the Route 58 Clarksville Bypass project located in Mecklenburg County Virginia. The Prime Contractor for this project is AMEC Civil LLC of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The project is being constructed by the Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond District, South Hill Residency. Greenhorne & O'Mara Inc., is providing Construction Inspection Services in conjunction with VDOT inspection personnel".

Above, the 4,800-foot-long bridge over Buggs Island Lake under construction as part of the US-58 Clarksville Bypass, photo taken from the town of Clarkesville in February 2003.

The 1.4-mile-long section of the bypass between US-58 west of Clarksville and US-15 south of Clarksville, opened to traffic in mid-2004, and the reconstruction was completed on the 1.0 mile of 4-lane reconstruction of US-58 west of the west end of the bypass. The existing 4-lane US-58 (that section which is being bypassed) was relocated onto a curved section where it connects to the new bypass west of town. US-58 was then temporarily signed through this intersection to follow all of the original US-58 through town.

The entire US-58 Clarksville Bypass was fully opened to traffic on June 9, 2005.

"Clarksville Bypass to open to traffic Thursday morning", Virginia Department of Transportation news release, June 8, 2005. Excerpts follow (blue text):
Governor Mark R. Warner expressed his excitement about growing tourism and development in Southern Virginia to an audience of over 400 today as the town of Clarksville and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) dedicated the Route 58 bypass bridge over Bugg’s Island Lake the Judge John W. Tisdale Memorial Bridge.

The ceremony was held in honor of Judge John W. Tisdale, Mecklenburg County court judge for more than 40 years, longest-tenured mayor in Clarksville town history and devoted area historian.

John W. Richardson, the judge's great-grandson, thanked the town on behalf of several generations of Tisdales for the opportunity to recognize his family’s deep connection to the area and commemorate their ancestor permanently for the community. Many state and local officials were in attendance, including Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer, Senator Frank Ruff Jr., Delegate Tommy Wright and Commonwealth Transportation Board member Gerald McCarthy.

Following the ceremony, the bridge was open to the public for cycling, jogging, walking and pets as attendees gathered at Occoneechee State Park for an elegant ice-cream social, to celebrate Judge Tisdale’s favorite treat.

The 5.5-mile long Clarksville Bypass will open in its entirety to traffic for the first time Thursday morning. This $75-million, 4-lane highway carries traffic just south of the town of Clarksville, with interchanges at US-15 just east and south of town. The Judge John W. Tisdale Memorial Bridge is 4,800 feet long and stands 60 feet above Bugg’s Island Lake.

I attended the dedication ceremony, and it was enjoyable. The dignitary platform was set up on the new bridge over Buggs Island Lake, and the dignitaries included the Clarksville Mayor, a number of other local and state elected officials, including the Lieutenant Governor and the main speaker Governor Mark Warner. About 400 citizens attended.

The 4-lane 4,800-foot-long bridge over Buggs Island Lake was dedicated and named the Judge John W. Tisdale Memorial Bridge. Tisdale had a long career between the 1930s and the 1970s that included being Mayor of Clarksville for many years, and then a state judge based in Mecklenburg County where Clarksville is located.

Event parking was at Occoneechee State Park (on Route 58 near the east end of the bridge), and shuttles were available to transport groups to the ceremony site. Bicyclists and pedestrians were allowed to park there and then bike or walk to the event about 1/2 mile away. After the ceremony ended at about 11:00 AM, the bicyclists and pedestrians were allowed to travel over the whole bridge.

I brought my mountain bike and I was one of the bicyclists, and I traveled over the whole bridge and approaches. This was a "one time chance" for bicyclists and pedestrians to cross the bridge, as the bridge and highway are limited access and will not permit bicyclists and pedestrians after it is open to vehicular traffic, and bicyclists and pedestrians will have the pre-existing bridge and Business US-58 for travel through the area and across the lake.

It all was enjoyable and I took a bunch of photos, and some are posted on the lower portion of the following website article --

US-58 Mecklenburg Widening and Bypasses - Photos - my article with construction photos of the widening projects and bypasses.

South Hill Bypass

The 5.2-mile-long $35.1 million South Hill Bypass construction was begun in March 1998, and it is a 4-lane limited access highway with a 60-mph design speed, passing south of the town. It has an at-grade intersection with existing US-58 west of town, a small interchange with VA-903 south of the town, and an at-grade intersection with existing US-58 in the east edge of the town. The interchange with I-85 was reconstructed with twin replacement US-58 bridges built over I-85, and new ramps and loops were added to convert the existing partial-cloverleaf (a half cloverleaf to the north of US-58) interchange to a full cloverleaf design. Each transition from existing US-58 to the new bypass forms a seamless continuous highway from existing to new, with the existing highway being tied to the new via a T-intersection.

Above image is the approved alignment for the South Hill Bypass, from VDOT Design Public Hearing brochure, September 14, 1995. Click the image for a large version (144K) of image.

On Sunday, August 29, 1999, the newspaper Richmond Times-Dispatch had 3 good articles about the widening and bypasses being constructed on US-58 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.

In the article "South Hill sees only benefits from new road", South Hill Mayor Earl O. Horne said his town has no fear of the bypass hurting the town in any way, and he was quoted. Excerpts follow (in blue text):
"I really don't consider it a bypass," he said. "It certainly helps that the bypass takes traffic around the downtown area, but ties it back in easily within sight of the strip of businesses and restaurants near the interstate", Horne said. "I have not heard the first merchant or anybody say this is going to hurt us," he said. "If anything," he said, "the bypass could help downtown. Now, all traffic traveling through South Hill on U.S. 58 must snake through town, congesting roads and leaving traffic snarled. That often includes a number of tractor-trailer trucks".

"Town celebrates completed road / Bypass eases South Hill traffic", newspaper Richmond Times-Dispatch, on August 3, 2000, article about the opening of the South Hill Bypass. Excerpts follow (in blue text):
With the completion of the South Hill bypass, truckers and motorists have a quick route around the town and local traffic is less congested, transportation officials said yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new road.

Work on the 4.5-mile, $24 million bypass started in April 1998 and the bypass opened last November, eight months ahead of schedule. The road was surfaced in the spring and finishing touches were added in June.

"We built this project to meet the growing transportation needs of the town and long-distance travelers," said Dale Goodman, resident engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation. "This bypass will carry us well into the future, accommodating increasing traffic volumes for decades to come."

The bypass was built to ease traffic congestion in downtown South Hill. The narrow road through town was the only path for heavy truck traffic to follow, often causing traffic tie-ups for motorists. The bypass makes travel in and around South Hill safer and more efficient and makes the town more accessible to tourists and residents, VDOT officials said.

The highway was paved with super-pave, a much tougher type of asphalt that will last longer than previous types.

The former route of US-58 through the town was slow and congested, and it made two right-angle turns through intersections in the downtown; this route is now signed as Business US-58. Actually the 1990 population of the town of South Hill was 4,217, and the population of Mecklenburg County was 29,241, so any "congestion" was small compared to a major city; basically it was just slow-going for several miles through the town with several traffic signals.

The bypass is signed only as US-58, but it in conjunction with I-85 also provides a bypass for US-1 traffic, and a bypass for traffic between US-58 west of South Hill and I-85 north of South Hill. The opening of the South Hill Bypass completes another key link in Arterial US-58 in Virginia, and it provides a big traffic improvement for the whole South Hill area.

Arterial highways in Virginia are 1,850 miles of intra-state highways that were designated in 1964 to be 4-laned with bypasses built around major towns, and over 90% of its mileage is complete today. With the completion of this bypass, US-58 between just west of South Hill and I-64 in the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area is now continuous Arterial standard, with 4-lanes-divided and with bypasses around South Hill, Lawrenceville, Emporia, Courtland, Franklin, Holland, and Suffolk.

The entire South Hill Bypass project was completed on August 2, 2000, when the improvements to existing US-58 at the east end of the bypass were completed, and the improvements to the I-85/US-58 interchange were completed. This provides a big improvement, with through traffic now on the high-speed bypass, and the Business US-58 now with lighter, more pleasant traffic conditions on the original US-58 through-town route.

Above, South Hill Bypass under construction, April 1999, looking west from near VA-903 overpass over US-58. Roadways have been graded and aggregate base has been placed. Click photo for June 1999 photo from the same vantage point. A "drill down" sequence will take you through 2 more photos showing the phases of construction to the completion in 2000.

US-58 Mecklenburg Widening and Bypasses - Photos - my article with construction photos of the widening projects and bypasses.