The new traffic light at the intersection of Brawner Street and Chain Bridge Road in McLean is scheduled to be activated in early July. Citizen groups and residents requested the light because of the number of people who attempt to cross the road at that location.
“The community has been working on it for years,” said Tonya Cunha, an aide in Dranesville District supervisor Joan DuBois’ office. “The elementary school and the Salona Village shopping center petitioned for it, and that’s when Stu[art] Mendelsohn asked for it.” Mendelsohn is DuBois’ predecessor at the District Supervisor's office.
The Langley Shopping Center is on the other side of Chain Bridge Road and is a popular destination in McLean because of the stores and restaurants that are operating there.
Shannon Price, the owner of Artisans in the Langley Shopping Center, recently told members of the McLean Chamber of Commerce that she was pleased to see the light going in because it would enable her employees to safely cross the street in the future.
“I had an employee hit by a car while trying to walk to the bank three years ago. I think her injury was part of why that light is there,” said Price.
Just steps from where the new light is situated is Franklin Sherman Elementary school, where hundreds of local children attend school. The school is situated in a primarily residential area. Cars in the intersection have been known to back up past the school when parents are dropping children off, because pulling out from Brawner onto Chain Bridge, one of the busiest streets in town, can be tricky.
“It’s not so bad now, but some mornings you wait for a long time, or you cut through to come out on Old Dominion. Not that that’s any easier,” said commuter Carol Feldman.
According to officials at the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), all of the electrical tests have been done to the signal, and it is ready to be used. “Power will be on at the signal on July 9. Once this signal has power, it will be in flash mode for a few days to get people to realize the light is there,” said Ryan Hall with VDOT.
“It will be activated on a Friday and flash all weekend, but by Monday it should be in full service for the morning rush hour,” said Hall
Initially the lights on Chain Bridge Road will flash yellow for caution, and the lights at Brawner Street will flash red, indicating that drivers must stop before proceeding into the intersection.
The signal is costing $98,500, well under the state average of $150,000. The cost includes the actual signal apparatus, design, construction and paint, as well as various utility tests necessary to hook up the signal.
In total, the light will have taken six months to become a reality. “The process started in February 2004. That’s when we started to develop plans. The actual construction began on April 21, 2004, and it will be operational on July 9,” said Hall