Corridor View |
|
 |
|
Regional View |
|
 |
|
|
Accident Summary |
|
 |
For every three (3) miles along route 501 there
is an average of:
- 6.3 accidents
- 3.9 injuries
Details
(January 1, 2003 -
December 31, 2003)
| From/To |
1
I-81/
Lynchburg |
2
Lynchburg/
Rustburg |
3
Rustburg/
Volens |
4
Volens/
N.C. border |
| miles |
18 |
21 |
30 |
31 |
| accidents |
21 |
104 |
43 |
45 |
| injuries |
7 |
39 |
50 |
36 |
| fatalities |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
Source: Virginia Department of
Transportation
|
Road Priorities List |
|
| |
- Truck turnout lanes on Rt. 501 at Eagle Eyrie; (Bedford)
- Reduce vertical curves on Rt. 501 approximately .5 mile north of the Village of Gladys to create an additional safe passing zone; (Campbell)
- Intersection of Rt. 501, Rt. 40 and Rt. 632, reduce speed limit to 45mph, remove traffic island at Rt. 632 and install flashing alert signals; (Halifax)
- Bridge work on Candlers Mountain Road. (Lynchburg)
- Widen shoulders and add new guard rails along the creek on Rt. 501 between Rt. 752 and Rt. 672; (Bedford)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 633 (Phelps Creek road) provide southbound left turn lane; (Campbell)
- Install passing lane on Rt. 501 at Mitchell’s Stretch and Childrey Creek; (Halifax)
- Improvements to intersection of 501 and lakeside Drive. (Lynchburg)
- Install left turn Lane on Rt. 501 at the Rt. 122 intersection; (Bedford)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 633 (Epsons Road) provide northbound left turn lane; (Campbell)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 628; construct right and left turn lanes (Halifax)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 933 (Sanfacon Road) provide northbound left turn lane; (Campbell)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 642; construct right and left turn lanes; (Halifax)
- Extend third lane of a three travel lanes in the Village of Rustburg from Depot Road south to the existing three lane improvements to provide a center left turn only lane; (Campbell)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and US Rt. 360 in Town of Halifax; install right turn lane and storage lane for southbound traffic; (Halifax)
- Evaluate intersection of Rt. 501, Rt. 652, Rt. 653 in the Village of Gladys; determine potential solutions for safety concerns; (Campbell)
- Sydnor Jennings Elementary School (approximately .5 miles south of Volens) construct/enhance southbound right turn/deceleration lane and construct northbound left turn lanes; (Halifax)
- Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 917 (Rails View Road, northern intersection) install northbound left turn lane and enhance south bound right turn out lane for safety; (Campbell)
|
Work in Progress |
|
 |
1. Safety improvements from Candlers Mountain
Road to Boonsboro Road. (Pavement Markers).
2. A center turning lane will be added to US
Route 501 for northbound traffic turning left onto Browns Mill Road.
(Route 686)
3. Intersection of Route 40 at Four Forks.
4. Improvements along Route 501/460 as part of
the new Route 460 Bypass.
5. Safety projects at the intersection of Routes
501 and 24 in Campbell County.
6. Engineering/environmental studies for
Brookneal Bypass. |
Completed Projects |
|
 |
1. Eight locations between Lynchburg and Big
Island. Relocated ditch lines and widened and paved the shoulders.
2. Intersection of US Route 501 and Swinging
Bridge Road (Route 605)
3. Intersection of US Route 501 and Lewis Ford
Road (Route 643)
4. Intersection of U.S. Route 501 and Route 603
in Volens. |
|
 |
The case for improving 501
- U.S. 501 is a vital traffic corridor serving one of the
nation’s most active areas of economic development—the
region from Interstate 81 near Lexington to the Research Triangle in North
Carolina.
- 501 serves a key role in the economic life of this region; thousands of trucks traverse it daily, supporting businesses and industries
that are already located here. The road’s condition also impacts
the economic development potential of the land around it. Consequently,
many area companies have begun to lend their support to improvement efforts.
Times have changed since 501 was built, but the road hasn’t.
Back then, engineers couldn’t have foreseen the weight and size
of modern cars and trucks, or how fast they would go. The highway needs
improvement
to accommodate these changes.
- U.S. 501 improvements have not kept pace with traffic growth,
causing safety problems that affect hundreds of thousands of Virginia
residents (as well as visitors to the region).
- Representatives from every county and city along the 501
corridor have been working together with private industries and
businesses to form a regional consensus list of improvement priorities.
- All localities in the 501 Regional Coalition agree that
a regional, long-term solution is needed—ultimately four-laning
from I-81 to the North Carolina border. (The existing corridor in Bedford
County is not conducive to four-laning, but does need significant safety
improvements. An alternate corridor would need to be identified to continue
four-laning to I-81.)
- Current and future generations of Virginians stand to benefit
from regional thinking and from the regional improvement of U.S. 501.
The U. S. Route 501 Coalition Top Priorities
- Construct Rt. 501/29/460 Lynchburg/Campbell Bypass (Southern leg). (Lynchburg)
- Reconstruct roadway to provide standard shoulders and guardrails between Rt. 612 and .5 mi north of Rt. 672. (Bedford)
- Construct eastward bypass from US Rt. 360 to Rt. 501. (Halifax)
- Construct improvements at Rt. 501 & Rt. 221. (Lynchburg)
- Construct southern bypass from Rt. 501 to Rt. 58. (Halifax)
- Reconstruct roadway section from Rt. 672 to Rt. 652 to provide standard shoulders and guardrails. (Bedford)
- Four-lane Rt. 501 from just south of Rt. 615 to Campbell County. (Halifax)
- Four-lane Rt. 501 from Brookneal to Winfall. (Campbell)
- Reconstruct roadway section from Rt. 652 to Rt. 761. (Bedford)
- Intersection of Route 501 and Route 628: construct right and left turn lanes. (Halifax)
- Intersection of Route 501 and Route 642: construct right and left turn lanes. (Halifax)
- Intersection of Route 501 and Route 633: (northern intersection) provide northbound left turn lane. (Campbell)
- Intersection of Route 501 and Route 933: provide northbound left turn lane. (Campbell)
- Evaluate Intersections of Routes 652, 635 with 501 in Gladys. (Campbell)
- Intersection of Route 501 and State Route 360 in town of Halifax: signalize and install left and right turn lanes. (Halifax)
- Intersection of Route 501 and Route 633 (southern intersection) provide southbound left turn lane. (Campbell)
- Intersection of Route 501 and Route 917 (northern entrance) provide northbound left turn lane. (Campbell)
- Sydnor-Jennings Elementary School (approximately 0.5 miles south of Volens); construct right and left turn lanes. (Halifax)
| 501’s
problems have been evident for decades.
In
fact, efforts to improve the roadway reach back half a century!
On March
10, 1954, Lynchburg’s newspaper reported that “members
of the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce’s highway committee
met with other road experts yesterday to come up with suggestions
for improving the stretch between Lynchburg and Glasgow on Rt.
501.” |
|
|
