With traffic increasing in the county by a 2 to 3 percent clip each year, congestion along U.S. 29 in Gainesville is due to get worse before it improves.

There is relief on the way as the Interstate 66-U.S. 29 interchange is set to wrap up in 2014 and will allow drivers to pass above the railroad tracks without having to stop while also bypassing some of the major choke points currently in existence.

Before construction is complete though, detours are expected throughout the area. VDOT planned to close off the entrance ramp Route 55 this week, forcing southbound drivers coming in from I-66 to turn on to Gallerher Road if they want to head up toward Haymarket.

"You always have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet," said Rick Canizales, the Prince William County transportation planning manager, reciting a line he commonly hears from his boss, county transportation director Tom Blaser.

Canizales said one of the biggest challenges of fixing the corridor is "keeping a keen sense of community in that area. And I the reason I say that is because you've got a great big shopping area and commercial area right there in Virginia Gateway... along side a lot of residential (units) behind that on Linton Hall Road."

Residents of Virginia Oaks can particularly expect to have a tough commute when they want to cross Lee Highway (U.S. 29) during the next couple of years as roads are shut off, closed, or detoured.

"When a big project comes in, you take away the pedestrian feel of it. You take away the ability to walk to certain places or do certain things," said Canizales.

Haymarket Mayor Pamela Stutz said she does not expect detours to affect the actual town too much just a couple miles northwest along Route 55. That's because most of the construction is targeted for areas directly along U.S. 29.

However, "I do think there'll be a little bit of unhappiness when they start the bridge because I'm not quite sure how we're going to get on the other side of Gainesville," she said.

Canizales added that once construction winds out, he expects the areas west and east of U.S. 29 to basically be their own communities.

In the mean time, Stutz is hoping for a bit of a windfall for the town from the construction as local consumers will be more inclined to shop on the west side of U.S. 29 instead of crossing over into Gainesville. She pointed out that there is already a lot of "duplication" of commerical areas between the greater Haymarket area and Gainesville.

"Some businesses (may) want to come this way because they'll realize more of a traffic pattern going this way," she said.

According to Haymarket town council member Bob Weir, traffic congestion on U.S. 29 at the Gallerher Road intersection has already served as a deterrent for some Haymarket consumers to shop in Gainesville at Virginia Gateway.

"They'll go to the western option than go to 29," he said, referring to Haymarket residents taking U.S. 15 and Old Carolina Road to enter Lee Highway. "It's been like that for years."

Stutz mentioned that town residents are going to have to tolerate some additional traffic in the short term as vehicles try to avoid congestion. As it is, cars, trucks, vans and SUVs heading out from Haymarket begin pouring onto I-66 between 4:30 to 5 a.m., according Stutuz, only to increase in volume throughout the morning. She recommended business bosses consider finding ways to adjust work schedules for their employees to help keep some vehilces off the road.

"You can pretty much tell when there's an accident on 29 because you see a lot more cut-through traffic then," she said. "I think it's going to be a little bit (more) of a turmoil as they start these detours... It's just going to be an adjustment for people."