GAINESVILLE — The Route 29 interchange project in Gainesville has hit a major milestone as it nears completion. Overnight on Tuesday, the Linton Hall Road traffic light was removed.
The $230 million project began in 2011 and about 61,000 cars passed through the light daily as part of a construction detour.
Milton Boggs drives shuttle bus in the Gainesville area. He says the original Route 29 intersection was so bad before the detour road that traffic would be backed up to Route 15.
“The light’s gone. It seems to be wide open from Virginia Oaks (Drive) right out to 66. That’s a good thing,” says Boggs.
There are also two new overpasses. One takes Route 29 over the Norfolk Southern Railroad while the other takes Gallerher and Linton Hall roads over both the railroad and Route 29.
The ramp from eastbound I-66 also reopened to southbound Route 29.
Now the project is in its final phases and depending on the weather is expected to wrap up sometime between the end of June or the middle of July, according to VDOT.
In the final phase, ramps will tie Linton Hall to Route 29.
WTOP’s Kathy Stewart contributed to this report.
