Gas prices remain high across the country and the states, with slight declines recently.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices in the Fredericksburg area rose sharply last week.
According to AAA, the local average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose from $3.26 to $3.45 last week.
This increase brought local prices back in line with state and national prices and brought the price closer to last month’s regional average of $3.48.
In Virginia, the average price on Friday was $3.36, according to AAA, slightly higher than the previous week and lower than $3.44 a month ago.
Across the country, the average price of gasoline on Friday was $3.45, three cents less than the previous week and six cents less than a month ago.
Current prices are lower than a year ago.
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This time last year, the price of gasoline was $3.82 nationwide, $3.66 in Virginia, and $3.65 in Fredericksburg.
Expansion of the state railwayLast week’s update on a local public hearing and statewide rail improvements led by the Virginia Passenger Rail Association missed some improvements already made to local railroads and stations.
Last week’s column covered a local update on the state’s $4 billion rail expansion program, where the bulk of the work is focused on building track along extensive stretches of the state’s rail lines. The state acquired 384 miles of CSX rights-of-way and 223 miles of track parallel to Interstates 95, 64 and 85.
The plan also calls for the modernization of railway stations across the state.
So far, improvements have been made to the Fredericksburg station (extended platforms and concrete improvements) and improvements are currently being made to the Quantico station (station modernization and adding a new third track while realigning the old tracks).
The Quantico project will “significantly improve security,” DJ Stadtler, executive director of VPRA, said in a telephone interview last week.
He added that work on the Arkendale extension, which will add several miles of third track between Stafford and Prince William counties, was completed earlier this summer.
Stadtler said the state’s expansion program is a long-term plan. Parts of the expansion will be completed before 2030, but much more is expected in the years after that. He noted that the improvements will be phased in, with each phase increasing capacity.
He believes the capacity increase will be critical, noting that Amtrak has consistently posted record ridership this year and that train ridership across the state has increased 18 out of the last 19 months.
According to VPRA, the number of Amtrak boarding and alightings at the Fredericksburg station has increased over the past year.
In the fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) 2023, 40,388 passengers boarded and 38,166 were dropped off at the city station. These figures rose to 46,846 and 42,227 respectively, representing a combined increase of 13.4%.
“Virginia has shown that if you build it, they will come,” Stadtler said.
A public on-site hearing is scheduled for work related to a Stafford project, the Potomac Creek Third Track. The meeting will be held on September 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Preliminary plans for the project call for the construction of a new third track adjacent to the two existing rail lines between Brooke Road Station in Stafford and Fredericksburg Station. The project includes modifications to the tracks at Dahlgren Junction in the Chatham area and new rail bridges at Harrell and Leeland roads in Stafford.
The Leeland Road bridge, which carries automobile traffic over the tracks, needs to be replaced because the track expansion will impact the bridge’s piers. The Harrell Road bridge carries trains over the narrow, two-lane road and will also be replaced to make way for the new track.
Work on the project is expected to begin in 2025 and possibly be completed in 2028, Stadtler said.
Scott Shenk: 540/374-5436
