Road to the Battle of the Vowels, Part 2: Stafford and Prince William Counties

Continuing the trip up to Baltimore, we returned to I-95, which also carries US 17 for a bit.

Alexandria and Washington are ideally less than an hour away. I say ideally because, well...you'll see.

US 17 leaves I-95 at Exit 133.

But first we cross the Rappahannock River into Stafford County, "a certified business location." Yes, we can say with certainty there are businesses in Stafford County.

Falmouth sits across the Rappahannock from Fredericksburg.

A look at Exit 133 in depth, plus a bannerless I-95 shield.

Some sort of sporty BMW.

Traffic.

So that's what real rounded corners look like.

Quantico has two exits from I-95, both for secondary route 619. Commercial vehicles are supposed to use Exit 148.

I'm not sure why there's no route number mentioned here.

Interesting US 1 shield on the offramp.

Another exit for 619. This time it actually has the shield.

The "normal" looking mileposts aren't common on this part of I-95.

Crowded gore sign.

This VMS said "I-495 / 19 Miles / 34 Minutes". It was more than that.

Traffic.

It allows me to take photos like this.

It was longer than that.

I like the one on the right better.

This gore sign looks like it has been used before.

Approaching the still-not-yet-signed VA 294, Prince William Parkway.

Slightly off-center.

Hint of VA 294's existence.

Another weird gore sign.

Get with the VA 294 shields, Prince William County!

The speed limit is dropping to 55? I wish we were going that fast.

OK, we're at Exit 160. There are still delays.

Excessively-bordered exit tab solutions for comparatively pointless guide signs.

Good, they kept the old exit tabs. District 4 murders everything about the old assemblies.

Rarely seen in Virginia is a shield on or near a gore sign.

Entering Fairfax County, we see an I-95 shield with a white North banner.

We'll continue across the Occoquan River in part 3.