Two way traffic on Virginia’s Route 9 began for the first time since last May through a tiny town in Loudoun County, Virginia, that typically carries 17,000 daily commuters from West Virginia and Maryland.
Virginia Route 9 in Hillsboro was completely closed for three months last May before a single-lane opened in August.
The town opened the less than 1-mile stretch of the road to limited two-way traffic early Monday and plans to have all work completely sometime in May.
“We’ve overcome the need for what we had anticipated to be a 30-day complete closure of the road to traffic this spring,” said Hillsboro Mayor Roger Vance.
“The vast majority of weekday commuters will now have two-way, morning and evening access
through the work zone.”
But during utility work that includes the underground installation of miles of power and communications cables, the work zone will continue to be closed.
All lanes on Route 9 will still be closed between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Fridays.
But it will be open all weekend long and Vance says that’s key for people to start enjoying local tourist destinations again.
“The work zone through Hillsboro will be open to two-way traffic all weekend long until the following Monday morning at 9 a.m. just in time to welcome back thousands of visitors to Hillsboro’s great wineries, breweries and attractions,” Vance said.
The traffic-calming and pedestrian safety project is ahead of schedule. An additional complete closure of the road planned for this spring has been canceled.
Vance said he’s hopeful that the entire project will be completed by May.
- Saturdays and Sundays: 24 hours
- Mondays–Thursdays: 12 a.m. to 9 a.m. and, 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day
- Fridays: 12 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 2 p.m. until the following Monday at 9 a.m.
- Mondays–Thursdays: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Fridays: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
