Dates	Number of Participants (unique individuals)
May 12-31, 2025	1,549

 

The following needs have been identified for this study. Do you agree with these needs?
Safety	87%
Congestion mitigation	80%
Capacity preservation (keep traffic flowing smoothly)	80%
Pedestrian safety	34%
Pedestrian access	26%
Transportation demand management (TDM)	22%
Bicycle access	19%
Transit access	13%

 

Rank the following needs in order of importance to you along the study area.
Reducing traffic congestion	88%
Corridor safety / intersection safety	86%
Speeding / aggressive driving	75%
Proper pavement marking and signage	68%
Pedestrian safety and accessibility	62%
Public transit access and service	59%
Bicycle safety and accessibility	57%

 

Which of the following safety issues concern you?
Speeding / aggressive driving	61%
Sudden stopping / rear-end crashes	51%
Side-impact crashes	50%
Difficulty weaving / merging	42%
Running red lights	31%
Lack of sidewalks / missing sidewalks	29%
Insufficient / missing crosswalks and pedestrian signal timing	25%
Inadequate pavement marking and signage	23%
Inadequate lighting	22%
Other	13%
Inadequate bicycle facilities	10%
Closely spaced driveways	9%
Lack of ADA ramps and accessibility	5%
Inadequate transit / bus stops	4%

 

What mobility issues do you typically experience when using the study area?
Difficulty making left turns	84%
Vehicles blocking entrances	40%
Difficulty accessing businesses	39%
Poor signal coordination	34%
Lack of turn lanes	29%
Difficulty when walking	10%
Difficulty when riding a bicycle	7%
Other	6%

 

What mode(s) of travel do you use when traveling along the study area?
Personal vehicle	100%
Truck or commercial vehicle	4%
Walking	4%
Cycling	3%
Taxi / Uber / Lyft	2%
Carpool / Vanpool	1%
Other	1%
Metro bus, local bus, or commuter bus	0%

 

RI-25-04 Phase 1 Executive Summary - PDF, 2MB

The Phase 2 survey regarding proposed alternatives for the Route 642 (Bell Creek Road) corridor from Route 360 (Mechanicsville Turnpike) to Cold Harbor Road in Hanover County was completed in November 2025.

Dates	Number of Participants (unique individuals)
November 7-21, 2025	283

 

Bell Creek Road and U.S. Route 360 

The intersection of Bell Creek Road and U.S. Route 360 has safety and congestion needs. In the northbound direction, the left-turn lane queues extend beyond the storage length during the PM peak hour. 

This intersection experienced 115 total crashes over a five-year period (2020-2024). Rear-end crashes (57 percent) were the most common type of crash at the intersection, followed by angle crashes (30 percent) and sideswipe-same direction collisions (90 percent). There were two pedestrian-related collisions. 

Two alternatives are proposed at this intersection: 1) Conventional Improvements, and 2) Partial Bowtie (Bowtie | Virginia Department of Transportation).

A conventional improvement involves maintaining the same configuration of the intersection while making minor and cost-effective upgrades. 

OPTION 1: Conventional improvements include: 

• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push-button, and pedestrian signals on all four approaches of the intersection.   
• Constructing sidewalk along both sides of Bell Creek Road north of U.S. Route 360. 
• Constructing sidewalk along both sides of U.S. Route 360 east of Bell Creek Road to connect with the existing sidewalk at Wynbrook Lane. 
• Removing the right-turn channelized slip lane on northbound Bell Creek Road towards U.S. Route 360 east.  
• Removing right-turn channelized slip lane on westbound U.S. Route 360 towards Bell Creek Road north. 
• Improving signal phasing and optimizing signal timings. 
• Constructing a shared-use path on the right side of Bell Creek Road south of U.S. Route 360.  
• Restriping the southbound Bell Creek Road towards U.S. Route 360 (approximately 400 feet north U.S. Route 360) to one left-turn and one shared through/right-turn lane.   
• Installing pavement marking along the northbound dual left-turns to designate the northbound I-295 ramp and U.S. Route 360/I-295 South ramp 
• Installing either overhead or ground-mounted signage for the northbound dual left-turn lane to clearly indicate the lanes designated for southbound and northbound I-295, and to guide traffic into the corresponding left-turn lane.

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points and the severity of collisions, particularly by mitigating the risk of pedestrian crashes. These changes are also intended to alleviate congestion through improved traffic flow and reducing queueing as a result of lane designation signage and pavement marking. 

OPTION 2: Partial Bowtie includes: 

• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push-button, and pedestrian signals on all four approaches of the intersection. 
• Constructing sidewalk along both sides of Bell Creek Road north of U.S. Route 360. 
• Constructing sidewalk along both sides of U.S. Route 360 to connect with the existing sidewalk at Wynbrook Lane. 
• Removing the right-turn channelized slip lane on northbound Bell Creek Road towards U.S. 360 east.  
• Removing the right-turn channelized slip lane on westbound U.S. Route 360 towards Bell Creek Road north. 
• Constructing a shared-use path on the right side of northbound Bell Creek Road towards U.S. 360 east. 
• Restricting left-turns from the northbound and southbound approaches of Bell Creek Road and replacing the left-turn lanes along Bell Creek Road with a raised median. 
• Constructing roundabouts at the intersections of Bell Creek Road and Battle Hill Drive and the intersection of Bell Creek Road and Walmart Entrance. Vehicles restricted from turning left at the intersection of U.S. 360 and Bell Creek Drive will go through at the intersection and then make U-turns at the roundabouts.

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points and the severity of collisions, particularly by mitigating pedestrian crash risk. These changes are also intended to alleviate congestion through improved traffic flow and reduced queuing as a result of left-turns being directed to upstream roundabouts. 

Please rank the improvement options for the Bell Creek Road and U.S. Route 360 Intersection. Respondents dragged and dropped the options into the priority box with their most preferred improvement option listed at the top and their least preferred improvement option listed at the bottom. (232 respondents) 

Option	Average Rank
OPTION 2: Partial Bowtie	1.27 (Top Ranked Improvement Option)
OPTION 1: Conventional improvements	1.28

 

Bell Creek Road at Battle Hill Drive 

The intersection of Bell Creek Road and Battle Hill Drive has safety and congestion needs. There are long queues of left-turning vehicles on the west leg of the intersection. Vehicles turning left from the west leg must cross five lanes with no median refuge and often cannot find a gap to turn onto Bell Creek Road toward U.S. Route 360. The existing stop bar on this leg is located a considerable distance away from the edge of the major road, which results in a sight distance issue. 

This intersection experienced 40 total crashes over a five-year period (2020-2024). Angle crashes (88 percent) were the most common type of crash at the intersection, followed by rear-end crashes (5 percent) and sideswipe-same direction collisions (5 percent). There were no pedestrian collisions. 

Three alternatives are proposed at this intersection: 1) Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT) (Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) - Intersection | Virginia Department of Transportation), 2) Roundabout and 3) signalization. 

OPTION 1: Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT) includes: 

• Installing a directional median opening that restricts through and left-turning traffic from Battle Hill Drive. This median is designed in a way that all other movements except the through and left turns from Battle Hill Drive would be able to turn using their original path. 
• Installing a crosswalk and ADA compliant curb ramps along the east leg.  
• Converting the eastbound and westbound approaches to right-turn only lanes.  
• Replacing the existing shared through and left-turning lane on the eastbound approach with a raised median. 
• Adding a directional median opening and loon (extra space for oversized vehicles to maneuver) for southbound U-turns at Starbucks access.

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points. These changes are also intended to alleviate congestion through improved traffic flow and reduced queue lengths as a result of restricting through and left turns from minor approaches. 

OPTION 2: Roundabout includes: 

• Constructing a roundabout at the intersection of Bell Creek Road and Battle Hill Drive as part of the partial Bowtie at the intersection of U.S. Route 360 and Bell Creek Road. 

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points. These changes may also alleviate congestion through improved traffic flow and reduced queue lengths as a result of installing a roundabout. 

OPTION 3: Signalization includes: 

• Installing a traffic signal at the intersection of Bell Creek Road and Battle Hill Drive. 
• Installing a crosswalk and ADA compliant curb ramps along the westbound approach.

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points.  They will also alleviate congestion by providing a designated phase for the left-turning traffic out of Battle Hill Drive, thus eliminating the need to find gaps in the through traffic. 

Please rank the improvement options for the Bell Creek Road at Battle Hill Drive Intersection. Respondents dragged and dropped the options into the priority box with their most preferred improvement option listed at the top and their least preferred improvement option listed at the bottom. (201 respondents) 

Option	Average Rank
OPTION 2: Roundabout	1.44 (Top Ranked Improvement Option)
OPTION 3: Signalization	1.76
OPTION 1: Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT)	2.13

 

Bell Creek Road at BJ's Entrance 

The intersection of Bell Creek Road at the BJ’s entrance has safety needs. No notable queueing has been observed at this intersection. The vehicles turning left from the TowneBank parking lot may have limited sight lines of the vehicles traveling northbound along Bell Creek Road. 

Three alternatives are proposed for this intersection: 1) RCUT (Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) - Intersection | Virginia Department of Transportation), 2) roundabout with RCUTs, and 3) roundabout only. 

OPTION 1: RCUT includes: 

• Installing a directional median restricting through and left turns from the BJs entrance. 
• Converting the eastbound and westbound approaches exiting from BJ’s and Target to right-turn only lanes. The existing through and left-turning traffic would have to turn right and then make U-turns at the Bell Creek Road intersections with BJ’s Tire Center Entrance and BJ’s Gas station entrance. 

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points. They will also improve traffic flow. 

OPTION 2: Roundabout with RCUT includes: 

• Installing a single lane roundabout with right-turn slip lanes at the BJ’s entrance. Right-turning traffic would be able to turn using the slip lane and would not have to use the roundabout. 
• Installing a directional median restricting through and left-turning traffic exiting from the driveways onto Bell Creek Road at the two adjacent intersections to the north (Home Depot entrance) and south (Hanover Square South) of the BJ’s entrance along Bell Creek Road. The left and the through-turning traffic can exit from the roundabout at the Bell Creek Road and BJ’s entrance intersection. 
• Rerouting the right-turns from the driveways onto Bell Creek Road at the two adjacent intersections to the north (Home Depot entrance) and south (Hanover Square South) will still be allowed.

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points and will improve traffic flow at three intersections. 

OPTION 3: Roundabout includes: 

• Installing a single lane roundabout with right-turn slip lanes at the BJ’s entrance. Right-turning traffic would be able to turn using the slip lane and would not have to use the roundabout. 

These changes will improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points and the severity of collisions, particularly through mitigating angle crash risk.  These changes are also intended to alleviate congestion through improved traffic flow. 

Please rank the improvement options for Bell Creek Road at the BJ's entrance. Respondents dragged and dropped the options into the priority box with their most preferred improvement option listed at the top and their least preferred improvement option listed at the bottom. (182 respondents) 

Option	Average Rank
OPTION 2: Roundabout with RCUT	1.45 (Top Ranked Improvement Option)
OPTION 3: Roundabout	1.60
OPTION 1: RCUT	2.25

 

Corridor-wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation  

The Bell Creek Road corridor between U.S. Route 360 and Cold Harbor Road has a need for pedestrian safety and bicycle access improvements. There are no existing pedestrian or bicycle accommodations along the corridor. 

This corridor experienced a total of 212 crashes over a five-year period (2020-2024). Two of these crashes were pedestrian-related at the intersection of Bell Creek Road at U.S. Route 360. 

Three alternatives for a shared-use path are proposed for this corridor. These alternatives improve safety and make the corridor more accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians. 

OPTION 1: Shared-use Path from U.S. Route 360 to Hanover Square North 

• Adding a shared-use path on the east side along Bell Creek Road from U.S. Route 360 to the Hanover Square North entrance. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, ADA compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian signals on all four approaches of the intersection of U.S. Route 360 and Bell Creek Road. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks and ADA compliant curb ramps on the east leg of the intersection of Bell Creek Road and Battle Hill Drive. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, ADA compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian signals on the south and east leg of the intersection of Bell Creek Road and the Hanover Square North entrance. 

OPTION 2: Shared-use Path from U.S. Route 360 to Cold Harbor Road with a Pedestrian Bridge 

• Adding a shared-use path on the east side along Bell Creek Road from U.S. Route 360 to Brandy Branch Mill Road (private road) and between BJ’s Tire Center entrance and Cold Harbor Road. 
• Installing a pedestrian bridge between Brandy Branch Mill Road and BJ’s Tire Center entrance. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, ADA compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian signals on all four approaches of the intersection of U.S. Route 360 and Bell Creek Road. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, ADA curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian signals on the south and east leg of the intersection of Bell Creek Road and the Hanover Square North entrance. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks on the east leg of all access points (business entrances/exits) along Bell Creek Road between Hanover Square North and Cold Harbor Road. 

OPTION 3: Shared-use Path from U.S. Route 360 to Cold Harbor Road with Median Option 

• Installing a shared-use path on the east side along Bell Creek Road from U.S. Route 360 to the south of the Hanover Square North entrance and from north of the BJ’s Tire Center entrance to Cold Harbor Road. 
• Installing a shared-use path on the median along Bell Creek Road between the two mid-block crossings (south of the Hanover Square North entrance and north of the BJ’s Tire Center entrance). 
• Removing the southbound dedicated left-turn lane at the intersection of Bell Creek Road and the BJ’s Tire Center entrance.  
• Changing the southbound through lane at the intersection of Bell Creek Road and BJ’s Tire Center entrance to a shared through-left-turning lane. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, ADA compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian signals on all four approaches of the intersection of U.S. Route 360 and Bell Creek Road. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks, ADA compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian signals on the south and east leg of the intersection of Bell Creek Road and the Hanover Square North entrance. 
• Installing high-visibility crosswalks on the east leg for all access points along Bell Creek Road between Hanover Square North and Cold Harbor Road. 
• Adding high-visibility mid-block crosswalks, ADA curb ramps, ADA compliant curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and pedestrian beacon between the median and the east side of Bell Creek Road to the south of the Hanover Square North entrance and north of the BJ’s Tire Center entrance. 

Please rank the improvement options for Corridor-wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodations. Respondents dragged and dropped the options into the priority box with their most preferred improvement option listed at the top and their least preferred improvement option listed at the bottom. (157 respondents)

Option	Average Rank
OPTION 2: Shared-use Path from U.S. Route 360 to Cold Harbor Road with a Pedestrian Bridge	1.37 (Top Ranked Improvement Option)
OPTION 1: Shared-use Path from U.S. Route 360 to Hanover Square North	1.92
OPTION 3: Shared-use Path from U.S. Route 360 to Cold Harbor Road with Median	2.02