Drivers on Andrew Chapel Road will notice wider shoulders, a new layer of asphalt and brighter, freshly painted lane markings between Courthouse Road and Brooke Road. Work was recently finished on a joint "wedge widening" project to slightly widen Andrew Chapel Road that emerged from a partnership between Stafford County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

“This road was identified earlier this year in our Comprehensive Road Study as a road needing improvement to make it safer and we’ve already funded it and completed it,” said Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Gary Snellings, Hartwood District. “We are working hard to make these changes around the County, with VDOT as a partner.”

Andrew Chapel Road leads to residential areas in Brooke and Marlborough Point, and carries commuter traffic destined for the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station at Brooke. Daily, around 4,700 vehicles travel on this two-lane road.

With the road already scheduled to be paved this summer by VDOT, Stafford invested around $124,000 of its state secondary road funding to widen the shoulders of Andrew Chapel Road by slightly more than one foot on each side. Called a wedge widening, this slight expansion of the road's footprint occurs before a paving project. This is just one of the many ways that VDOT and Stafford County are working together to sequence work that will improve the safety of the roads.

VDOT crews then followed the shoulder widening with a uniform coat of asphalt across the expanded road, topped with new centerline and safety edge lines to sharply define the travel lanes. The project was finished in June.

"Wedge widening gives drivers additional space to recover if their vehicle's wheels stray from the travel lanes," said Lynne Keenan, VDOT Fredericksburg Residency Administrator. 'The extra pavement will help drivers keep their tires on the road. We are very impressed with the coordination that occurred on this project and are working closely with Stafford County staff to do more projects like this in the future."