If you look at the 2019 Loudon County transportation plan (https://www.loudoun.gov/DocumentCenter/View/152283/CTP---large-maps), there's a lot to get excited about.
-US 50 east of Northstar Boulevard will become a freeway
- Another freeway, called US 50 alternate, will be built closer to Dulles Airport
- All of the Leesburg Bypass will become a freeway
- The Loudoun County Parkway will become a freeway from US 50 to Old Ox Road, and if there is sufficient traffic, so will all of 606 with no less than 8 lanes
And that's not counting all widenings.
Here's something you might enjoy: https://www.loudoun.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8975
It's an update on a bunch of what Loudoun is currently eyeing transportation wise (with a big notable exception being the US-15 plans) Definitely a fun county for road geeks. However, I would nevertheless not expect any of the projects you've listed to be built anytime soon. While there was recent funding awarded for "US-50 alternate", I do not believe that this will be built as a four-lane freeway, at least not yet. Regarding building interchanges on actual US-50, while Loudoun appears to want to do this, there is currently no funding for it. The future interchange with the Loudoun County Parkway (the 1st priority) alone is projected to cost around $500 million which is insane. Still though, what they're doing now (mostly widenings and missing road connections via proffers, county funding, NVTA funding, etc) is still considerably more than other localities in the state.
Quote from: Jmiles32 on November 23, 2020, 06:11:53 PM
Here's something you might enjoy: https://www.loudoun.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8975
It's an update on a bunch of what Loudoun is currently eyeing transportation wise (with a big notable exception being the US-15 plans) Definitely a fun county for road geeks. However, I would nevertheless not expect any of the projects you've listed to be built anytime soon. While there was recent funding awarded for "US-50 alternate", I do not believe that this will be built as a four-lane freeway, at least not yet. Regarding building interchanges on actual US-50, while Loudoun appears to want to do this, there is currently no funding for it. The future interchange with the Loudoun County Parkway (the 1st priority) alone is projected to cost around $500 million which is insane. Still though, what they're doing now (mostly widenings and missing road connections via proffers, county funding, NVTA funding, etc) is still considerably more than other localities in the state.
How is that possible? Unless they're making it a full blown stack, it should cost about $100 million max.
Quote from: kernals12 on November 23, 2020, 06:31:29 PM
Quote from: Jmiles32 on November 23, 2020, 06:11:53 PM
Here's something you might enjoy: https://www.loudoun.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8975
It's an update on a bunch of what Loudoun is currently eyeing transportation wise (with a big notable exception being the US-15 plans) Definitely a fun county for road geeks. However, I would nevertheless not expect any of the projects you've listed to be built anytime soon. While there was recent funding awarded for "US-50 alternate", I do not believe that this will be built as a four-lane freeway, at least not yet. Regarding building interchanges on actual US-50, while Loudoun appears to want to do this, there is currently no funding for it. The future interchange with the Loudoun County Parkway (the 1st priority) alone is projected to cost around $500 million which is insane. Still though, what they're doing now (mostly widenings and missing road connections via proffers, county funding, NVTA funding, etc) is still considerably more than other localities in the state.
How is that possible? Unless they're making it a full blown stack, it should cost about $100 million max.
I have no idea and agree but this what it says regarding that particular project:
QuoteLoudoun County Pkwy / Rt 50 Future Grade-Separated
Interchange: Currently LCP and Rt 50 cross at a signalized
intersection; however, the Board's long term plan is to upgrade
the intersection to a full grade separated interchange. The
interchange project was included as a new project in last years
adopted Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) with anticipated funding in
"future years" (more than 6 six years into the future). As this project is
anticipated to cost approximately $500 million to complete, future
Board's will need to seek significant state and federal funding
assistance. Based on the current status and tremendous cost of this
project, Supervisor Letourneau and I believe it will take at least 10
years, if not more, until construction is able to begin.
Hopefully, both the $500 million price tag and 10 years away estimate are wrong but we'll see.
Quote from: Jmiles32 on November 23, 2020, 06:11:53 PM
Here's something you might enjoy: https://www.loudoun.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8975
It's an update on a bunch of what Loudoun is currently eyeing transportation wise (with a big notable exception being the US-15 plans) Definitely a fun county for road geeks. However, I would nevertheless not expect any of the projects you've listed to be built anytime soon. While there was recent funding awarded for "US-50 alternate", I do not believe that this will be built as a four-lane freeway, at least not yet. Regarding building interchanges on actual US-50, while Loudoun appears to want to do this, there is currently no funding for it. The future interchange with the Loudoun County Parkway (the 1st priority) alone is projected to cost around $500 million which is insane. Still though, what they're doing now (mostly widenings and missing road connections via proffers, county funding, NVTA funding, etc) is still considerably more than other localities in the state.
Anybody remember the old "Don't Fairfax Loudoun" bumper stickers from the 1980s? Traffic was already bad in all parts of eastern Loudoun when I moved south some 20 years ago.
And they probably thought turning VA 28 into I-366 was a crazy idea...
Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 24, 2020, 09:25:20 AM
Anybody remember the old "Don't Fairfax Loudoun" bumper stickers from the 1980s? Traffic was already bad in all parts of eastern Loudoun when I moved south some 20 years ago.
Quote from: Henry on November 24, 2020, 10:20:26 AM
And they probably thought turning VA 28 into I-366 was a crazy idea...
It seemed to me that most folks wanted Sully Road to get the upgrade. Support for new highways waffles between "make my commute faster" and "no more development". Once the new VA-28 was in place, they certainly couldn't wait to get the four-lane, then to get the big interchanges, then to get the six-lane and then to get rid of the traffic lights.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 25, 2020, 10:23:49 AM
Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 24, 2020, 09:25:20 AM
Anybody remember the old "Don't Fairfax Loudoun" bumper stickers from the 1980s? Traffic was already bad in all parts of eastern Loudoun when I moved south some 20 years ago.
Quote from: Henry on November 24, 2020, 10:20:26 AM
And they probably thought turning VA 28 into I-366 was a crazy idea...
It seemed to me that most folks wanted Sully Road to get the upgrade. Support for new highways waffles between "make my commute faster" and "no more development". Once the new VA-28 was in place, they certainly couldn't wait to get the four-lane, then to get the big interchanges, then to get the six-lane and then to get rid of the traffic lights.
And the conversion of Virginia's Route 7 to a freeway seems to have little opposition. The only concerns are about traffic delays caused by the construction. If only things had gone like this for
another certain Route 7...
Of course the people in Loudoun County favor upgrading Route 7 because it provides a free alternative to the Dulles Greenway's ever-increasing tolls.
Regarding the "Don't Fairfax Loudoun" slogan, I recall in the early 1990s there was concern in the Charlottesville area about "the Fairfaxing of Albemarle County" as Charlottesville's commercial development continued to push further north along Route 29.
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 25, 2020, 11:21:09 AM
Of course the people in Loudoun County favor upgrading Route 7 because it provides a free alternative to the Dulles Greenway's ever-increasing tolls.
But they're upgrading it all the way out to Round Hill.
And plenty of freeways that would've provided alternatives to toll roads (looking at you I-290 to Waltham and Somerset Freeway in New Jersey) got cancelled by NIMBYism too.
Quote from: kernals12 on November 25, 2020, 11:26:00 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 25, 2020, 11:21:09 AM
Of course the people in Loudoun County favor upgrading Route 7 because it provides a free alternative to the Dulles Greenway's ever-increasing tolls.
But they're upgrading it all the way out to Round Hill.
And plenty of freeways that would've provided alternatives to toll roads (looking at you I-290 to Waltham and Somerset Freeway in New Jersey) got cancelled by NIMBYism too.
It was already mostly freeway-grade from the east side of Leesburg to Round Hill. There are four partial at-grade intersections going up the hill west of Leesburg and east of the interchange with Route 9, though the road effectively functions like a freeway through there, and then it's all freeway-grade west to the western end of Business Route 7 at the western end of Round Hill just east of the Hill High Marketplace.
In this case, BTW, Route 7 from Leesburg to Route 28 long predates the Dulles Greenway, though of course the road was not in its current form.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 24, 2020, 09:25:20 AM
Anybody remember the old "Don't Fairfax Loudoun" bumper stickers from the 1980s? Traffic was already bad in all parts of eastern Loudoun when I moved south some 20 years ago.
Yes. There was an analog in Maryland to this - "Keep Calvert Country" at about the same time.
Quote from: Henry on November 24, 2020, 10:20:26 AM
And they probably thought turning VA 28 into I-366 was a crazy idea...
Was the idea of upgrading VA 28 to a I-366 an actual idea at one point?
Quote from: Joke Insurance on December 05, 2020, 01:27:32 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 24, 2020, 10:20:26 AM
And they probably thought turning VA 28 into I-366 was a crazy idea...
Was the idea of upgrading VA 28 to a I-366 an actual idea at one point?
It was one forum member's idea, and it has since become a meme. Nobody actually in a position of power has proposed it.
Quote from: Joke Insurance on December 05, 2020, 01:27:32 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 24, 2020, 10:20:26 AM
And they probably thought turning VA 28 into I-366 was a crazy idea...
Was the idea of upgrading VA 28 to a I-366 an actual idea at one point?
Search the forum for posts by ethanman62187.
I for one am certainly surprised how much they're doing in Loudoun, right on the edge of rural Loudoun even!
I'm not hoping for interchanges all down the corridor, but some at high-profile intersections will do fine.
Here's an interesting concept that never really took off.
https://www.urban-ltd.com/northstar-boulevard
Why don't they just move mainline US 50 to the Dulles freeway and change the existing US 50 in the area to US 50 Alternate?
Quote from: epzik8 on December 16, 2020, 03:35:11 PM
Why don't they just move mainline US 50 to the Dulles freeway and change the existing US 50 in the area to US 50 Alternate?
With what as the goal?
Quote from: epzik8 on December 16, 2020, 03:35:11 PM
Why don't they just move mainline US 50 to the Dulles freeway and change the existing US 50 in the area to US 50 Alternate?
Not sure how they'd pull that off - the DTR ends a ways off of Route 50 in Falls Church. Might need to route it along 66 still to do so.
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 08, 2020, 11:12:34 PM
I for one am certainly surprised how much they're doing in Loudoun, right on the edge of rural Loudoun even!
I'm not hoping for interchanges all down the corridor, but some at high-profile intersections will do fine.
Here's an interesting concept that never really took off.
https://www.urban-ltd.com/northstar-boulevard
I can see why. Cloverleafs are out of fashion
Quote from: kernals12 on December 17, 2020, 08:05:03 PM
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 08, 2020, 11:12:34 PM
I for one am certainly surprised how much they're doing in Loudoun, right on the edge of rural Loudoun even!
I'm not hoping for interchanges all down the corridor, but some at high-profile intersections will do fine.
Here's an interesting concept that never really took off.
https://www.urban-ltd.com/northstar-boulevard
I can see why. Cloverleafs are out of fashion
I believe it's still planned as a parclo - one loop was taken out as there is now a housing development in place. That may be the only reason they've taken it out. The Loudoun County Parkway interchange still has plans for a full cloverleaf though.
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 17, 2020, 08:48:58 PM
Quote from: kernals12 on December 17, 2020, 08:05:03 PM
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 08, 2020, 11:12:34 PM
I for one am certainly surprised how much they're doing in Loudoun, right on the edge of rural Loudoun even!
I'm not hoping for interchanges all down the corridor, but some at high-profile intersections will do fine.
Here's an interesting concept that never really took off.
https://www.urban-ltd.com/northstar-boulevard
I can see why. Cloverleafs are out of fashion
I believe it's still planned as a parclo - one loop was taken out as there is now a housing development in place. That may be the only reason they've taken it out. The Loudoun County Parkway interchange still has plans for a full cloverleaf though.
You're kidding. The cloverleaf interchange is a menace. It is the worst thing New Jersey has hoisted upon this planet, yes, even worse than Snooki.
Quote from: kernals12 on December 17, 2020, 08:56:41 PM
You're kidding. The cloverleaf interchange is a menace. It is the worst thing New Jersey has hoisted upon this planet, yes, even worse than Snooki.
Just how it was planned by the Loudoun boards. Though one thing's for sure, not a single cloverleaf interchange built in this world is my fault.
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 17, 2020, 09:11:29 PM
Quote from: kernals12 on December 17, 2020, 08:56:41 PM
You're kidding. The cloverleaf interchange is a menace. It is the worst thing New Jersey has hoisted upon this planet, yes, even worse than Snooki.
Just how it was planned by the Loudoun boards.
Those bastards. They've doomed us all.
Quote from: kernals12 on December 17, 2020, 08:56:41 PM
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 17, 2020, 08:48:58 PM
Quote from: kernals12 on December 17, 2020, 08:05:03 PM
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on December 08, 2020, 11:12:34 PM
I for one am certainly surprised how much they're doing in Loudoun, right on the edge of rural Loudoun even!
I'm not hoping for interchanges all down the corridor, but some at high-profile intersections will do fine.
Here's an interesting concept that never really took off.
https://www.urban-ltd.com/northstar-boulevard
I can see why. Cloverleafs are out of fashion
I believe it's still planned as a parclo - one loop was taken out as there is now a housing development in place. That may be the only reason they've taken it out. The Loudoun County Parkway interchange still has plans for a full cloverleaf though.
You're kidding. The cloverleaf interchange is a menace. It is the worst thing New Jersey has hoisted upon this planet, yes, even worse than Snooki.
lol
lol
It depends on the weaving volumes.
source: being a traffic engineer
please stop trolling
Quote from: Alps on December 17, 2020, 11:06:21 PM
lol
lol
It depends on the weaving volumes.
source: being a traffic engineer
please stop trolling
Not to mention, C/D roads and the loop's dimensions, like size and curvature at the ends (many new parclos have very sharp curves or no slip ramps for instance) help define these cloverleaves.
Looking at this plan, I'm puzzled on a few things:
1) So where is 'Alt US 50' supposed to originate from on the east, and what purpose does it serve/need if Route 50 in SE Loudoun will be a freeway?
2) Just exactly how can US 50 in SE Loudoun be a freeway from the Fairfax line to near Route 15? This would lead to a disaster on the east in Fairfax unless there was significant coordination. I mean is Loudoun kidding?
-To this end, US 50 would need to be a freeway in Fairfax. I could see it like this:
-From I-66 to Rt 28 just model it after Route 1 on the North Shore of Boston OR Route 4/17 in New Jersey
-From Rt 28 to Loudoun, the more traditional freeway style
Thoughts?
US 50 already has a brief freeway section between SR 608 and I-66 in the Fair Oaks Mall area. I have not seen any plans for Fairfax County to extend that west.
Quote from: 74/171FAN on August 16, 2022, 08:05:09 AM
US 50 already has a brief freeway section between SR 608 and I-66 in the Fair Oaks Mall area. I have not seen any plans for Fairfax County to extend that west.
It should, like Route 17 in NJ.
Quote from: bluecountry on August 24, 2022, 11:11:24 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on August 16, 2022, 08:05:09 AM
US 50 already has a brief freeway section between SR 608 and I-66 in the Fair Oaks Mall area. I have not seen any plans for Fairfax County to extend that west.
It should, like Route 17 in NJ.
Route 17 has no freeway section
Quote from: Alps on August 25, 2022, 12:29:44 AM
Quote from: bluecountry on August 24, 2022, 11:11:24 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on August 16, 2022, 08:05:09 AM
US 50 already has a brief freeway section between SR 608 and I-66 in the Fair Oaks Mall area. I have not seen any plans for Fairfax County to extend that west.
It should, like Route 17 in NJ.
Route 17 has no freeway section
What about around Ho-Ho-Kus?
Quote from: Rothman on August 25, 2022, 07:04:37 AM
Quote from: Alps on August 25, 2022, 12:29:44 AM
Quote from: bluecountry on August 24, 2022, 11:11:24 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on August 16, 2022, 08:05:09 AM
US 50 already has a brief freeway section between SR 608 and I-66 in the Fair Oaks Mall area. I have not seen any plans for Fairfax County to extend that west.
It should, like Route 17 in NJ.
Route 17 has no freeway section
What about around Ho-Ho-Kus?
Not a freeway. Driveways.
Quote from: bluecountry on August 16, 2022, 06:59:07 AM
Looking at this plan, I'm puzzled on a few things:
1) So where is 'Alt US 50' supposed to originate from on the east, and what purpose does it serve/need if Route 50 in SE Loudoun will be a freeway?
2) Just exactly how can US 50 in SE Loudoun be a freeway from the Fairfax line to near Route 15? This would lead to a disaster on the east in Fairfax unless there was significant coordination. I mean is Loudoun kidding?
-To this end, US 50 would need to be a freeway in Fairfax. I could see it like this:
-From I-66 to Rt 28 just model it after Route 1 on the North Shore of Boston OR Route 4/17 in New Jersey
-From Rt 28 to Loudoun, the more traditional freeway style
Thoughts?
SE Loudoun would work well in some cases but other than that I'd say they have to adapt to the tight freeway model in some places; development is still encroaching on the road with companies acting like there is no freeway in sight.
And I will say these two things:
-If US 50 Alt means a different roadway, will they make one around Gilbert's Corner/downtown Aldie/Middleburg/Upperville?
-I do wish these interchanges could preserve some of those subdivision entrances. I say they look quite nice and it's a shame those were taken out when VA 7 was upgraded.
Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville fought very strenuously against bypass plans some years back. They were afraid of becoming "dead" towns where everyone went around on the new bypasses and the in-town businesses withered away. The current road design with roundabouts, small islands and brickwork when you enter the towns, etc., was all a result of those negotiations some years ago. I recall that at one point there was a plan to eliminate the strange random four-lane section of Route 50 just west of Middleburg (the current westbound carriageway would have become the two-lane two-way thru road and the current eastbound carriageway would have been severed but maintained for property access reasons). But that seems to have been dropped.
I suspect "US 50 Alt" is just a weird way of referring to an alternate routing for a US 50 freeway on new alignment instead of upgrading the existing road. That doesn't explain the seemingly indirect tie-in to the west, though...
Quote from: Roadsguy on September 04, 2022, 12:58:07 PM
I suspect "US 50 Alt" is just a weird way of referring to an alternate routing for a US 50 freeway on new alignment instead of upgrading the existing road. That doesn't explain the seemingly indirect tie-in to the west, though...
I think actually it is part of a new proposals to link the Air and Space Parkway with the Tall Cedars Parkway.
Quote from: bluecountry on September 05, 2022, 09:11:33 AM
Quote from: Roadsguy on September 04, 2022, 12:58:07 PM
I suspect "US 50 Alt" is just a weird way of referring to an alternate routing for a US 50 freeway on new alignment instead of upgrading the existing road. That doesn't explain the seemingly indirect tie-in to the west, though...
I think actually it is part of a new proposals to link the Air and Space Parkway with the Tall Cedars Parkway.
I remember seeing such billed as a bypass road for the Dulles Airport. Curious to see how it will turn out, especially that such a route would actually be a spur of 50.
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on September 05, 2022, 11:56:13 AM
Quote from: bluecountry on September 05, 2022, 09:11:33 AM
Quote from: Roadsguy on September 04, 2022, 12:58:07 PM
I suspect "US 50 Alt" is just a weird way of referring to an alternate routing for a US 50 freeway on new alignment instead of upgrading the existing road. That doesn't explain the seemingly indirect tie-in to the west, though...
I think actually it is part of a new proposals to link the Air and Space Parkway with the Tall Cedars Parkway.
I remember seeing such billed as a bypass road for the Dulles Airport. Curious to see how it will turn out, especially that such a route would actually be a spur of 50.
In order to truly be effective, the proposed US-50 Alt should directly tie into the planned US-50/Loudoun County Parkway interchange. With this interchange likely to be under construction by the end of the decade, I'm hoping Loudoun will, at the very least, make design accommodations for a potential tie in later (btw anyone know if there is an official interchange design for this project yet?). Hopefully that's the plan and linking US-50 Alt to Tall Cedars Parkway would just be a Phase 1.
Quote from: Jmiles32 on September 05, 2022, 03:17:00 PM
In order to truly be effective, the proposed US-50 Alt should directly tie into the planned US-50/Loudoun County Parkway interchange. With this interchange likely to be under construction by the end of the decade, I'm hoping Loudoun will, at the very least, make design accommodations for a potential tie in later (btw anyone know if there is an official interchange design for this project yet?). Hopefully that's the plan and linking US-50 Alt to Tall Cedars Parkway would just be a Phase 1.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virginiaplaces.org%2Ftransportation%2Fgraphics%2Fbicounty.png&hash=6158a6e561cf0ad570cafa1e8bcaa8ee06dd0efa)
The plan pictured here lays out some questions. Will this be access-controlled, and how will they pull it off with all the Willowsford, Arcola Center and Brambleton development abutting it?
Ideally this would allow passengers to access Dulles via a second location.
Quote from: bluecountry on September 05, 2022, 08:59:11 PM
Ideally this would allow passengers to access Dulles via a second location.
Third, actually. There are already two ways to access Dulles by private vehicle (one of which is closely watched by police because it's used to reach the Dulles Access Road to avoid paying tolls). Of course, adding access from the south would probably require tunneling under the runways/taxiways, so my guess is that you shouldn't hold your breath.
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 06, 2022, 07:38:59 AM
Quote from: bluecountry on September 05, 2022, 08:59:11 PM
Ideally this would allow passengers to access Dulles via a second location.
Third, actually. There are already two ways to access Dulles by private vehicle (one of which is closely watched by police because it's used to reach the Dulles Access Road to avoid paying tolls). Of course, adding access from the south would probably require tunneling under the runways/taxiways, so my guess is that you shouldn't hold your breath.
Certainly, from the west there should be; and as well, that 267/28/Dulles exit from the Greenway needs massive improvements. Maybe if the Commanders move to Loudoun that will spur such a project. :-D
I know this is an older thread, but there's no possible way a US 50 ALT route will be built just north of the existing route considering all of the ROW acquisition needed from the airport and the lack of a logical place for it to reconnect with US 50 or VA 28 in the east. I also don't see a reason for such a project, considering US 50 is already a road large enough to be expanded upon. It would be better to perform a Delaware State Route 1-esque upgrade, leaving minor intersections and driveways, perhaps using some signalized green-Ts and Michigan lefts at more-important junctions, and putting a few interchanges where absolutely needed such as at Loudoun County Parkway, maybe even a few overpasses here and there. No point in building a new highway so close to a much more easily fixable existing one.
Quote from: Joseph R P on January 18, 2023, 12:53:09 PM
I know this is an older thread, but there's no possible way a US 50 ALT route will be built just north of the existing route considering all of the ROW acquisition needed from the airport and the lack of a logical place for it to reconnect with US 50 or VA 28 in the east. I also don't see a reason for such a project, considering US 50 is already a road large enough to be expanded upon. It would be better to perform a Delaware State Route 1-esque upgrade, leaving minor intersections and driveways, perhaps using some signalized green-Ts and Michigan lefts at more-important junctions, and putting a few interchanges where absolutely needed such as at Loudoun County Parkway, maybe even a few overpasses here and there. No point in building a new highway so close to a much more easily fixable existing one.
Have fun telling that to Aldie or Middleburg. :spin:
Quote from: 74/171FAN on January 18, 2023, 01:04:38 PM
Quote from: Joseph R P on January 18, 2023, 12:53:09 PM
I know this is an older thread, but there's no possible way a US 50 ALT route will be built just north of the existing route considering all of the ROW acquisition needed from the airport and the lack of a logical place for it to reconnect with US 50 or VA 28 in the east. I also don't see a reason for such a project, considering US 50 is already a road large enough to be expanded upon. It would be better to perform a Delaware State Route 1-esque upgrade, leaving minor intersections and driveways, perhaps using some signalized green-Ts and Michigan lefts at more-important junctions, and putting a few interchanges where absolutely needed such as at Loudoun County Parkway, maybe even a few overpasses here and there. No point in building a new highway so close to a much more easily fixable existing one.
Have fun telling that to Aldie or Middleburg. :spin:
Fortunately I'm only thinking of the stretch between 28 and Stone Ridge. It would be ideal to just slap some more roundabouts along the 2-lane section of US 50 between Stone Ridge and Aldie (which I believed is planned).
Quote from: Joseph R P on January 18, 2023, 01:12:04 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on January 18, 2023, 01:04:38 PM
Quote from: Joseph R P on January 18, 2023, 12:53:09 PM
I know this is an older thread, but there's no possible way a US 50 ALT route will be built just north of the existing route considering all of the ROW acquisition needed from the airport and the lack of a logical place for it to reconnect with US 50 or VA 28 in the east. I also don't see a reason for such a project, considering US 50 is already a road large enough to be expanded upon. It would be better to perform a Delaware State Route 1-esque upgrade, leaving minor intersections and driveways, perhaps using some signalized green-Ts and Michigan lefts at more-important junctions, and putting a few interchanges where absolutely needed such as at Loudoun County Parkway, maybe even a few overpasses here and there. No point in building a new highway so close to a much more easily fixable existing one.
Have fun telling that to Aldie or Middleburg. :spin:
Fortunately I'm only thinking of the stretch between 28 and Stone Ridge. It would be ideal to just slap some more roundabouts along the 2-lane section of US 50 between Stone Ridge and Aldie (which I believed is planned).
Sure, but I can see those places being scared of more traffic flooding in there.
In other Loudoun County highway news, the planned VA-7 interchange at Hillsboro Road (Rt. 690) in Purcellville is at severe risk of being unfunded due to numerous delays and disputes between the town and the county over relatively minuscule details. If this interchange is indeed canceled, it would be extremely unfortunate, not only because a vast majority of people in the area support it, but also because of the domino effect it would have on other Western Loudoun projects, such as planned improvements to the VA-7/VA-287 interchange, that were designed under the assumption that this interchange would be built:
https://www.loudounnow.com/news/county-purcellville-delays-likely-sink-route-690-interchange-plans-13m-in-funding/article_dd2b6954-80a6-11ed-af3f-076227eea0ac.html
QuoteThe latest actions in more than two years of delays by the Purcellville Town Council and government may have sunk major transportation and athletic field projects in the town and cost county taxpayers millions, the county government has warned.
In particular, a Dec. 13 Town Council vote may have canceled plans for an interchange at Rt. 7 and Rt. 690, delayed interchange improvements at Rt. 7 and Rt. 287 for months or years, and caused an indefinite delay of plans for the Fields Farm athletic fields complex and a park-and-ride lot.
The county has also won $3.6 million in state funding for the park-and-ride, and $9.6 million for the Rt. 690 interchange–money which the county may now return to avoid potential difficulties getting that funding for other projects in the future. County staff members have said they have already received the first warning from the state about the long delays to the interchange project, and said without progress by the new year they may recommend returning that money to the state. They have advised supervisors it may be better to cancel those projects than risk that source of state funding countywide by failing to use that money in a timely manner.
The Purcellville Town Council on Dec. 13 had been scheduled to hold a public hearing on those plans–but instead canceled that public hearing and sent the projects once again to the town's Planning Commission. They also directed the commission to review the county's acquisition of a roughly 7,000-square-foot parcel near the planned Rt. 690 interchange, which the county purchased in 2018 and which was dedicated for a right-of-way for the project in a July 2022 deed and plat of dedication signed by the town.
Pointing to a floodplain on the land and HOA covenants, the town now says the lot must go through a public hearing and win approval from two-thirds of the residents of the Catoctin Meadows Homeowners Association, of which the lot was formerly part. Councilman Tip Stinnette, a Catoctin Meadows resident, said the town will not schedule that public hearing until the county provides the HOA with all the documents it submitted to the town. Once that has been done, the town would then hold a public information session, then a Planning Commission evaluation, and eventually a Town Council public hearing. The Town Council approved that statement in a vote at the Dec. 13 meeting.
With the town's newest setback, County Administrator Tim Hemstreet told supervisors in a memo Monday the Rt. 690 interchange now appears unlikely to proceed.
On top of the lost state funding, Hemstreet wrote construction costs grow by an average of 7% a year, and unless county staff members can find a plan to replace that state funding, it would be five to 10 years before funding is available.
"If the staff and I can develop a reasonable alternative that would allow the project to maintain a timely schedule, we may recommend pursuing a yet unidentified alternative. We recognize that the project is very important to western Loudoun, so we will do what we can to try and identify a reasonable alternative to the Town's current position," he wrote.
Delaying the Rt. 690 interchange could also impact all the other projects while the county works up new traffic analyses, he wrote.
Purcellville resident and district Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) pointed out Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser had put the interchanges among his campaign promises.
"It's unbelievable to me that after at least two election cycles of campaigning on partnering with the county to accelerate the Rt. 7/690 interchange, all Mayor Fraser has actually done is work to delay the project to the point that we are now in danger of losing all remaining funding for it," Buffington said.
On the interchange, he wrote, "the Town is risking this project over a 1/6th of an acre floodplain easement that has been accounted for in the interchanges design in order to ensure no negative impacts to any adjacent properties."
County staff members plan to provide a more comprehensive update to supervisors at their January finance committee meeting.
Hopefully, there can be some sort of last-second agreement worked out between the town and county because if not, this interchange is only going to get more costly and therefore more unlikely.
I really would like to see RT 50 be free of traffic lights to Middleburg from 66.
As I stated, just copy RT 17 in NJ where there are zero lights.
Quote from: Jmiles32 on January 18, 2023, 05:08:52 PM
Quote
Pointing to a floodplain on the land and HOA covenants, the town now says the lot must go through a public hearing and win approval from two-thirds of the residents of the Catoctin Meadows Homeowners Association, of which the lot was formerly part. Councilman Tip Stinnette, a Catoctin Meadows resident, said the town will not schedule that public hearing until the county provides the HOA with all the documents it submitted to the town. Once that has been done, the town would then hold a public information session, then a Planning Commission evaluation, and eventually a Town Council public hearing. The Town Council approved that statement in a vote at the Dec. 13 meeting.
Further proof that HOA's are the Devil...