A bird’s-eye view of the Route 29 construction area, just west of Union Mill Road. Photo by Bonnie Hobbs.
Several local road projects are either underway, in the pipeline or nearing completion. Below are the details:
Route 28 Widening
This project will widen Route 28 from Old Centreville Road to the Prince William County line at Bull Run from four to six lanes. The work includes intersection improvements, plus pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Cost estimate: $47.35 million; FCDOT approved: $47.35 million.
It complements the I-66/Route 28 Interchange and, in conjunction with other road projects, would complete the Route 28 Corridor through the entire county. This project includes intersection improvements, as well as pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Preliminary engineering should start between now and January 2017.
A large development just south of the county line is expected to exacerbate existing congestion. So this widening reduces significant congestion between Prince William and Centreville. And as a transportation corridor of regional significance, it would improve access to Dulles International Airport, Reston and Herndon.
I-66/Route 28 Interchange:
Reconstruct portions of the existing interchange. Remove four traffic signals on Route 28 to enhance safety and improve capacity. A VDOT study is underway. VDOT already has $50 million programmed for this project. Cost estimate: $122 million. Six-year funding approved by Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT): $54 million.
Widen and reconstruct westbound I-66 off ramp to northbound Route 28. Realign Braddock/Walney roads and construct overpass with ramp connection from northbound Route 28 to the new bridge. Provide new connections from Braddock to eastbound and westbound I-66, from Braddock to and from southbound Route 28, and from southbound Route 28 to eastbound I-66 (flyover).
This project extends Poplar Tree Road across Route 28 from Stonecroft Boulevard to Walney Road. It also involves construction of a new access road to E.C. Lawrence Park and reduces congestion on both I-66 and Route 28.
Three alternatives are currently proposed:
- Alternate 2A provides direct access to and from the I-66 express lanes between Route 28 north and I-66 east/west. There’s also direct access between the express lanes east of Route 28 and Route 28 south. But drivers can’t go to and from Route 28 south and I-66 west.
*Alternate 2B offers direct access between Route 28 north and I-66 east/west.
- Alternate 2C has the smallest footprint, minimizing the impact to E.C. Lawrence Park. It has the same travel movements as Alternate 2A, as well as access between the I-66 express lanes west and Braddock and Walney roads in Centreville. It also extends Poplar Tree Road to the park.
Route 29 Bridge Replacement
VDOT is currently replacing the Route 29 bridge over the Little Rocky Run stream in Centreville. Besides improving the bridge, itself, the project will also result in a new sidewalk and shared-use path. The new bridge will go from .2 miles east of Pickwick Road to Union Mill Road and will be just under a half-mile long.
It will be built six lanes wide to accommodate future traffic, but will initially be striped for four lanes. A 16-foot-wide, raised, grass, median strip will separate north- and southbound lanes. Each outer lane will be 15-feet wide, with the outermost three feet earmarked for bicycle riders.
On the bridge’s south side, a path will connect to existing trails. The north side will have a 5-foot-wide sidewalk connecting to the Faircrest community and existing sidewalks. Estimated cost is $17.7 million and anticipated completion is this October.
Walney Road Bridge and Widening
The existing, Walney Road bridge over Flatlick Branch is disintegrating structurally and surpassed its life expectancy some 18 years ago. So VDOT is replacing it with a wider, sturdier and safer bridge.
The new bridge will have a four-lane capacity with bike lanes. Walney Road will also be widened from two to four lanes from 250 feet south of Mariah Court to Willard Road.
In addition, the downhill curve on north-south Walney will be smoothed out significantly to make it descend gradually. The road will also be raised 10 feet higher in the area where it currently dips down as drivers leave the bridge, for better sight distance.
The old bridge is now closed and a detour is in place through the summer. The goal is to complete the new bridge by the end of the year. Estimated cost is $15.5 million.
Roundabout at Braddock and Pleasant Valley Roads
VDOT will be building a 90-foot-wide roundabout to improve traffic flow at the Braddock/Pleasant Valley roads intersection by Cox Farms in Centreville. Fort Myer Construction Corp. won the contract to do the work. Estimated project cost is $5.8 million, with completion anticipated by spring 2016.
Steve Udzinski, with WBCM Highway Construction – Fort Myer’s primary designer – explained each phase of the project. Phase one, he said, is “to do the drainage culvert and ditch off of the roadway, so it shouldn’t impede traffic. We’ll also do temporary paving along Braddock and Pleasant Valley roads to be able to later maintain two lanes of traffic on these roads in all directions.”
During phase two, he said, “We’ll maintain the existing traffic patterns north of Pleasant Valley Road.” He also noted that some phases could take anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months.
Udzinski said phase three will involve “switching traffic to other lanes, during nights and weekends, to the west side of Pleasant Valley Road while Braddock Road drivers use the temporary pavement. There’ll also be right-turn construction, plus curb-and-gutter work along Pleasant Valley.”
In phase four, Pleasant Valley traffic will be on a shifted alignment. But motorists on Braddock will have been shifted to the south. Phase five will feature the actual construction of the roundabout.
“Barrels will delineate the work-zone areas,” said Udzinski. “We’ll build the center island and then the splitter islands and then do the final pavement and markings. We’re also doing a trail connection to the intersection. There’ll be a crosswalk across Braddock Road and a sidewalk along the Cox Farms property.”
Meanwhile, VDOT also said the roundabout work won’t interfere with Cox Farms’s daily operation or fall festival, which attracts thousands of people from throughout the Washington Metropolitan area.
Stone Road Overpass over I-66 from Route 29 to Route 28
This project provides an alternative to Route 28 that goes from Centreville to the Westfields Corporate Center. It received partial funding for an alignment study, environmental analysis and preliminary engineering. Cost estimate: $81.55 million; amount approved by FCDOT: $5 million.
Construct a four-lane divided road between Stone Road at Route 29 and New Braddock Road. The work includes curb and gutter, a 5-foot-wide concrete sidewalk on the east side and a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the west side of Stone Road.
Construct a bridge over I-66 and another bridge over Big Rocky Run. Re-stripe westbound New Braddock Road to provide two, through travel lanes. This overpass could reduce congestion at the I-66/Route 28 and I-66/Route 29 interchanges. In addition, a future Metrorail station near this site is listed on the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
Route 29 from Union Mill Road to Buckley’s Gate Drive
This project provides pedestrian facilities on the north side of Route 29 and widens Route 29 in this area from four to six lanes. It complements the VDOT bridge-replacement project at Little Rocky Run and completes the widening of Route 29 from Shirley Gate Road to Centreville.
It’s currently the last segment of Route 29 between the City of Fairfax and Centreville that’s not six lanes, so this work would eliminate the last remaining bottleneck. Cost estimate: $32.7 million; FCDOT approved: $25 million. Preliminary engineering could start as early as July 2018.