Today, the Powhite Parkway is one of the most
heavily-traveled corridors in the Richmond metropolitan
area. Nearly 90,000 vehicles travel on the Powhite
Parkway each day with that figure rising to more
than 100,000 on peak days. From May until October
1996, extensive work to resurface the Powhite
Parkway Bridge took place. The $2.8 million project
involved replacing the deck surface with a concrete
and latex mixture to extend the life of the facility.
After re-striping, the number of northbound lanes
on the bridge increased from four lanes to five.
Currently, the Powhite Parkway is undergoing an
extensive construction project to widen the northbound
and southbound lanes. The Split Plaza project
is scheduled to be completed by fall 2008.
Drivers should
be aware that the new shift will begin in conjunction
with the demolition of a section of the Powhite
Parkway mainline toll plaza canopy. Construction
crews will remove two toll booths and a portion
of the plaza canopy, beginning Friday, April
11, at 6 p.m. The work is scheduled to be completed
by Sunday, April 13. Delays should be expected
for southbound traffic during that weekend.
In the event of rain, construction will take
place the following weekend, April 18-20.
The new Powhite Parkway southbound toll plaza
is scheduled to debut Saturday, April 12, as
part of the Powhite Plaza Expansion/Split Plaza
Project. With the opening of the new plaza,
current southbound lanes will close to begin
testing the new Open Road Toll (ORT) lane technology.
All southbound traffic will be directed through
the new plaza during this phase.
Upon completion in late summer, the Powhite
Plaza Expansion/Split Plaza Project will introduce
three ORT lanes, also known as express lanes,
in each direction along the Parkway, allowing
E-ZPass customers to travel at near highway
speeds through barrier-free toll lanes. This
project is the final phase of the Richmond Metropolitan
Authority’s ambitious program, dating
back to 2001, which will significantly reduce
traffic congestion on the Parkway.
The official pronunciation is "POW-hite,"
in the same manner as you pronounce "Powhatan"
and "Powder." The name comes from
the name of the creek that the parkway follows.
References to the creek by this name have been
found in records more than 300 years old, and
the creek probably was named by Native Americans
who were in the area long before colonial settlers
arrived.
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