Steve Burns
WMAL.com
HAYMARKET – (WMAL) The Virginia Department of Transportation today is celebrating the end of construction at a new, innovative interchange at Interstate 66 and Route 15 in Haymarket.
It’s called a Diverging Diamond Interchange, and this is the first one in Northern Virginia, VDOT’s Ellen Kamilakis told WMAL.
“What’s special about a Diverging Diamond Interchange is that you are never turning directly into the path of another vehicle,” she said.
Drivers cross over to the left side of the road on each end of the interchange, facilitating a smoother entry and exit from the highway.
“The severity of crashes, the severity of injuries are always greatly reduced,” Kamilakis said. “All of the DDIs that have been implemented around the country have seen a huge drop in crashes.”
The project also necessitated two new bridges over I-66, something that was badly needed, Kamilakis said. It also features a new multi-use path.
It may not be the only DDI in Northern Virginia for long, she said. One of the designs being examined around Nutley Street for Interstate 66’s widening outside the Beltway is a DDI.
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: VDOT)
