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VDOT: Ashland Road diverging-diamond interchange moves to design-build; budget gap remains
Summary
VDOT told the Goochland Board of Supervisors that the Ashland Road/I-64 diverging-diamond interchange has conditional FHWA approval and will move to a design-build procurement to speed delivery, but officials said there is roughly a $3 million estimate gap on a roughly $79 million project and a tentative CTB award in September 2026.
VDOT engineers updated the Goochland County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 that the planned diverging-diamond interchange (DDI) at Ashland Road (Route 623) and I-64 has received conditional approval from the Federal Highway Administration and will proceed under a design-build procurement.
Philip Frazier, assistant resident engineer in VDOT's Ashland residency, said the change to design-build will allow the project to be delivered about a year earlier and give the selected team flexibility to innovate in design and construction. VDOT plans to complete roughly 40% design before pausing to procure the design-build team, then finish design while the contractor relocates utilities and begins construction.
Frazier said the DDI will be bundled with the nearby Hickory Haven Park & Ride so contractors do not conflict in the same corridor. He told supervisors the Park & Ride is fully funded and that the DDI is tracking approximately a $3,000,000 gap on a roughly $79,000,000 project estimate. "We are exhausting all options to refine the estimate and seek state funding first rather than coming back to the board for additional local money," Frazier said.
VDOT provided a preliminary schedule: completion of the environmental document (NEPA) was projected for July 2025, enabling a public hearing in late summer; later steps would include procurement and a Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) award targeted for September 2026. Frazier said construction duration is expected to be approximately three years from contract execution, with potential construction completion in August 2029, though he emphasized the schedule and costs were not locked in.
Supervisors asked whether the county would be on the hook if funding fell short. Frazier responded that the state will lead efforts to secure additional funds and the agency will attempt to avoid bringing a funding shortfall to the county unless unavoidable. Board members also pressed VDOT on the Bennington Road realignment and a larger-than-expected water main crossing that have contributed to rising cost estimates, and on temporary signalization tied to Project Rocky; VDOT said the traffic-engineering group had approved temporary signalization and that the project team is coordinating the details.
Why it matters: the DDI and the bundled Park & Ride are regional mobility investments expected to change traffic patterns along I-64 and Route 623; the county will be invited to a VDOT risk workshop and will need to track grant/CTB actions and right-of-way needs as the project moves toward procurement and construction.
