Initial plans Since its opening in July 1992, the Fredericksburg Line had terminated at its namesake city. Spotsylvania was not included in the 1992 VRE network because the county was not part of the original funding district. In 2004, VRE's Strategic Plan indicated the possibility of a station in Spotsylvania at a Route 17 site, citing existing ridership from the county and the need for increased parking, as well as noting that the extension could be constructed relatively cheaply, allowing for near-term implementation.
Joining VRE On August 18, 2009, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted to join VRE. In September 2009, they additionally voted to join its associated funding district, the
Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC). The North Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) approved the decision (which included provisions for a VRE station in Spotsylvania) in November 2009, and Spotsylvania joined VRE and the PRTC in February 2010.
Planning and delays The VRE board issued preliminary approval of the extension in June 2012 and devoted about $400,000 in VRE funds to the project. A Department of Environmental Quality public comment period regarding the third track lasted from January to February 2013. Design work started in June 2012 and was finished by March 2013. On May 17, the board issued a $2.349 million contract to Hammerhead Construction for station construction, with work intended to begin in June. A $8 million contract for the third track was awarded in June. A $20 million contract with
CSX Transportation was approved in September 2013; this signing allowed construction but work did not yet begin. A later date of June 2014 was announced in November 2013 due to delays in negotiations, as the owners of the property upon which the third track and parking lot will be built disputed the price they were to be paid for the land. Construction on the third track started in early 2014, but not on the parking lot and station, due to a continued lack of agreement. In May 2014,
VDOT took over negotiations from the county, as the state agency had more power of
eminent domain. In July 2014, VDOT filed a certificate of take in a county court, which the property owners consented to; this allowed the land to be transferred even without a final agreement on the sale price. Bidding for the parking lot and roadway construction opened on July 25, 2014, with bids due on August 27. The $7.3 million lowest bid was selected in September 2014.
Construction A groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 12, 2014. At the groundbreaking, officials stated that the station might open as soon as December 2014 even if the parking lot was not yet complete, but this did not come to fruition. In March 2015, the VRE board voted to terminate the $8.7 million contract with one company, which had been working on the third track project, due to numerous safety violations. The termination was expected to delay the third track but not the station opening. Negotiations about the cost of the parking land failed in 2015; the case will go to trial in May 2016.
Opening On October 26, 2015, VRE announced that the station would open at the start of service on November 16, 2015. The station saw full service on the 16th, with a mid-morning ribbon-cutting ceremony. During the first week of operations, daily ridership at Spotsylvania averaged 550 boardings. The third track opened on May 17, 2016. Later that month, an agreement for a price of $3 million – substantially higher than VRE's original offer – was reached for the purchase of the parking lot property. In July 2025, VRE turned over part of the property to the county for a symbolic
$10 payment. ==Funding==