At last week's quarterly meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA), July 21, the group's Transportation Committee head, Judy Heisinger, provided answers to some local transportation questions.
Her group met June 24 with Loren Epton, chief of traffic engineering for the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Northern Virginia District. Below are some of the highlights of their discussion:
Q: Are traffic signals warranted at the intersections of Braddock and Pleasant Valley roads, and Pleasant Valley Road and Herndon Ave.?
A: Traffic-volume studies are underway, but are not yet completed. And the Pleasant Valley Road/Herndon Avenue intersection (just north of Richard W. Jones Park) may not have enough space for the installation of a traffic signal.
Q: Where are we in the process of getting a traffic signal at Bull Run Post Office Road and Route 29? VDOT will install the signal, but Fairfax County is responsible for putting in the left-turn lane for northbound traffic on Route 29.
A: Both the lane and the signal should be in place by early 2004.
Q: Where are we in getting the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to approve the Old Centreville Road truck ban that was approved in April by the Board of Supervisors?
A: It is anticipated that the CTB will probably review it this fall.
Q: Money was allocated, several years ago, to provide a pedestrian walkway under I-66 at Route 29; where are we on this matter?
A: VDOT and the county Department of Transportation have not come to an agreement on it. Larry Butler, Sully District's new representative on the Countywide Trails Committee, will try to get these two entities together to see if something can be worked out.
Q: What's happening to improve safety at the sharp and dangerous S curve on Braddock Road?
A: VDOT began repairs by adding rock to the ditches and fixing the pothole.
Heisinger noted, though, that large commercial trucks are using that road and some cannot fit. So her committee asked VDOT to conduct a study to determine the size of vehicle that can safely travel on that curve.
The WFCCA's Transportation Committee also told Epton that, following the truck ban on Bull Run Post Office Road, north of Route 29, trucks — even dump trucks and tractor trailers — have continued to travel on this road.
The committee learned that, since these trucks are going to a site on Bull Run Post Office, they're not violating the through-truck ban. However, said Heisinger, "Something more needs to be done, as that road is still not safe for trucks [to be using]."