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AUGUST 28, 2015
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 24
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U.S. 1, Courthouse road work planned
INSIDENOVA.COM
Regional library director to retire after 44 years TRACY BELL
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Visitors to a Stafford County and VDOT information meeting get a look at the proposed construction along U.S. 1 at Courthouse Road planned for the coming years. ALEKS DOLZENKO | STAFFORD COUNTY SUN
TRACY BELL
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Stafford County Sun
tafford County and the Virginia Department of Transportation revealed their plan to use $112 million on improvements to the Courthouse Road and U.S. 1 intersection. Preliminar y plans include widening U.S. 1 along a 6.5-mile stretch and creating left-turn lanes at Courthouse, Bells Hill and Hope roads. According to the plans presented at the information meeting at the George L. Gordon, Jr., Government Center on Aug. 6, U.S. 1 would be converted to a four-lane divided
highway with a concrete median separating northbound and southbound traffic, enhancing traffic flow. The travel lanes will be 11 feet wide with sidewalk additions included. VDOT and the county plan to split the project’s cost, but only part of the project is currently funded. The project is being split into phases, staff said. The plans aim to eventually result in a pedestrian-friendly, active, retailand office-rich environment. County staff reported that traffic is projected to increase at the intersection of Courthouse Road and U.S. 1 by 500 percent by the year 2035.
A spring public hearing on the improvements is expected to be held. VDOT and county staff said that construction could start in early 2018 and be completed in the summer of 2019. The improvements will go hand in hand with a larger Courthouse interchange project, as well as projects including Courthouse Streetscape and a Stafford Courthouse Facade Renovation. The first project aims to improve the aesthetics in the area with lighting, landscaping and pedestrian accommodations. The second WORK includes renovations to PAGE 14
Stafford County Sun
onna Cote has announced her retirement after 44 years with the Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL), according to a news release. Cote spent 34 years as the library director and before that served as library secretary, reference librarian and assistant director. Her last day will be Sept.11. During the course of her tenure, Cote spearheaded many initiatives and cemented vital community partnerships that have seen the CRRL firmly established as a core compoDONNA COTE nent of the educational and cultural infrastructure of the region. Building projects across the system have included the renovation of the headquarters ; the building of the Porter, Salem Church, England Run, Montross and Newton libraries; and the establishment of the Cooper and Snow Libraries in renovated and expanded spaces. The CRRL moved from a paper card catalog to the web-based catalog that library customers use today. The CRRL was among the first libraries in Virginia to establish a website, in 1997, and it is now a heavily used portal to the library’s collections. Under Cote’s leadership, the library has been positioned as a resource for lifelong learning, a destination for artistic enrichment, and a welcoming RETIRED community meeting center. PAGE 14 While books and reading