Route 250 – Rockfish Gap Turnpike
Albemarle County, Virginia
Big rigs that might lose their brakes descending the mountain now have a safe way to stop
From VDOT Culpeper:
Today, a new truck arrestor ramp opens on U.S. 250 (Rockfish Gap Turnpike), and it’s the first of its kind in Virginia. This $5.5 million safety feature is designed to put the brakes on runaway big rigs and passenger vehicles descending Afton Mountain.It is part of a Smart Scale design-build bundle for Albemarle County which includes a new roundabout at U.S. 250 and Route 151 (Critzer Shop Road). The truck arrestor ramp addresses a safety issue for 18-wheelers heading down the mountain to that intersection.
The arrestor ramp system consists of 10 stainless-steel nets arranged to safely stop vehicles as large as an 18-wheeler weighing up to 80,000 pounds traveling up to 80 miles an hour. The first net is designed to stop a passenger vehicle.
The remaining nine nets will slow a big rig at a deceleration rate that will avoid injury to the driver. As a fail-safe, a heavy-duty safety net is located at the end of the ramp designed to stop vehicles larger than an 80,000-pound tractor trailer.
“Runaway Truck Ramp” and “Runaway Vehicle Only” signs are installed to alert drivers of the ramp as they descend Afton Mountain.
Visit 511virginia.org , call 511 or check the 511 Virginia mobile app for up-to-date information on road and traffic conditions.
For questions or to report hazardous road conditions, the public should contact VDOT’s 24-hour Customer Service Center by visiting my.vdot.virginia.gov or calling 800-FOR-ROAD (367-7623).
