FREDERICKSBURG FREE LANCE-STAR, SCOTT SHENK

Spotsylvania County officials and 7th District U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger gathered in front of the old courthouse Monday to announce millions in money approved for road projects and a new water tower.

The funds were a product of work by Spotsylvania, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Spanberger, who sponsored the bill to get $4.61 million for the improvements.

Also on Monday, Spanberger’s office announced federal funds for Fredericksburg’s emergency operations center.

The funding for both localities was recently signed into law by President Joe Biden.

Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors members Deborah Frazier and Kevin Marshall thanked the congresswoman for helping the county get the funds.

Frazier said a lot of hard work was done by county staff, VDOT and Spanberger’s office.

Marshall highlighted how the road improvements will make it easier for patients to access the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic, which is under construction at U.S. 1 and Hood Drive.

Spanberger said such funding only comes when localities make sure her office gets the right information “so we know how to build out the plans and priorities for what it is we’re supporting. When local, state and federal investments are working in harmony, that’s really the best way to serve our communities. That’s when we get results.”

The county is getting $4.1 million for road projects and another half million dollars to help pay for the new water tower.

The county plans to build the 1-million-gallon water tank to replace the current, smaller water tower in order to serve the growing Massaponax and Thornburg areas. The new funds are in addition to $3 million the congresswoman helped secure in fiscal 2023.

The road projects are focused on the Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 interchange, with plans calling for additional turn lanes.

The federal funding secured by the congresswoman for Fredericksburg will provide $637,195 for upgrades to the emergency operations center.

That money will go toward security upgrades as well as new monitors for the center, computer workstations and “consoles for dispatchers to manage an increased number of calls and maintain lines with first responders during emergency situations,” Spanberger’s office said in a statement.