The Connection

Area Roads Discussed

State Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne Jr.’s firsthand experience with northern Virginia road congestion happened as he was running late to a meeting last week.

His excuse for arriving tardy to the March 31 McLean and Great Falls citizens associations’ community hearing gave the 100-plus members in the audience some comic relief before he delved into more serious topics like the Route 7 expansion and increasing tolls.

“I misjudged the amount of time it took to get here,” said Layne at the McLean Community Center. “While we have some traffic issues in [Hampton Roads], they are mostly confined to crossing bridges and tunnels.”

Layne was appointed at the beginning of the year by Gov. Terry McAuliffe as the Secretary of Transportation. A resident of Virginia Beach, he served on the Commonwealth Transportation Board representing his region from 2006 until his recent appointment, according to https://governor.virginia.gov/cabinet/transportation.

“When I was asked to send an invitation to the Secretary, I thought it would be months before we heard from him,” said Dranesville Supervisor John Foust during introductory remarks.

Layne said transportation decisions are best solved on the local level, and all issues should be faced head on.

“I learned when you don’t deal with issues head on, you’ll deal with them anyway,” he said. “You’ll have to deal with them later on.”

This includes the plans to widen Leesburg Pike. He said the project, which includes other plans to relieve congestion before the Silver Line Metrorail is open, will cost $300 million. However, he noted, the entire project can be broken up and spaced out.

ONCE STARTED, the project would take about two years to complete.

By a show of hands, many of the audience members were a part of the Wolf Trap Woods Homeowners Association. They were worried that the possible roadwork would create entering and exiting their neighborhood a hazard.

“We’ll have no safe means to get in and out of our subdivision,” said association member Nancy Kessler. “In order to get into McLean, we have to maneuver through three lanes of traffic that’s very congested. When we’re coming home, say from Tysons Corner, we have to maneuver again through three lanes of traffic. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Layne agreed with her suggestion to add traffic lights at major neighborhood intersections.

Not everyone felt their concerns were addressed, however. Stella Koch, of Great Falls, asked for lower speed limits through Tysons Corner.

“It’s not a beltway,” she said. “It’s not a tollway.”

Koch said there is a conflict with traffic moving at 50 miles per hour through the urban area.

“I don’t think they resolved the issue at all,” she said after the meeting.

MANY CITIZENS asked whether Layne could get the tolls reduced or eliminated on the Dulles Toll Road and the Greenway. However, he said the matter was not his to resolve.

“Unfortunately, both of these aren’t owned by the state,” he said.

After the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority bought the road, the tolls were never removed - despite the original plan to only have the toll until the road was paid for. Layne said he could try to negotiate with MWAA, but he did not want to make a promise on something he did not feel confident about.

“It’s not a great answer, but it’s a truthful answer,” he said.

Foust said he was happy with how Layne handled the meeting.

“He’s only been on the job for a couple months, and he’s responsible for the entire state’s transportation,” he said after the hearing. “There’s a lot going on at the county level.”