Northern Virginia notes

[froggie]

Some notes and observations from over the summer...

VA 28 upgrade and Woodrow Wilson Bridge notes were posted in those respective topics.


Beltway HOT Lanes:

- Construction is well underway both on this project, and the related project to add the HOV ramp connections (i.e. Phase 8) at the Springfield Interchange.  Piers for much of the new bridgework are very visible within the Springfield Interchange, especially if you're driving along the Inner Loop.

- At this point, it's largely a lot of earth movement near Tyson's, and replacing several bridges over the Beltway, including SR 620/Braddock Rd, VA 236, US 29, I-66, and VA 7.


US 15:

- The 4-lane widening project in Prince William County is essentially complete between I-66 and Dominion Valley Dr.  North of there to the project terminus (just north of VA 234), traffic has been switched onto the newly constructed, future northbound lanes, while the original (future southbound) lanes get a facelift.

- At the US 15/VA 234/SR 601 junction, the signals for VA 234/SR 601 have been switched to the new permanent mast arms, and the left turn signals are protected-only.  Curiously, the left turn signals on US 15 remain protected-permitted.

- Further north, at Gilbert's Corner, US 15 is now open to traffic and US 50 is the route being detoured through the new roundabouts and new connector.  The US 15/US 50 junction itself is still signalized, though much of the future roundabout there has been constructed.  All three roundabouts and the connector in the southeast corner show up on the 2009 ADC maps.

- The connector, facilitating traffic between US 15 South and US 50 East, is still marked as just "TO US 50" or "TO US 15", with no other street or route markings.  According to VDOT, the new connector is named Howsers Branch Dr, but VDOT did not have a route number for it yet.

- Unrelated to US 15, but related to Gilbert's Corner, the new roundabout at US 50/SR 860 (east of US 15) has been completed and opened to traffic.


Last note:  a new interchange is under construction on VA 7 at SR 607/Loudoun County Pkwy.  From the way the bridge beams look, it appears it will be a SPUI.

[WillWeaverRVA]

This is unrelated, but what's up with the construction on US 1 near Neabsco Mills Rd in Prince William County? It looks like that segment is being straightened out, but I'm not entirely positive.

[Alex]

Fairfax County Parkway extension project hits 'mega' status

The Army base relocation program, which will bring almost 13,000 new jobs to Fort Belvoir and Springfield's Engineering Proving Ground in fall 2011, created visions of far worse traffic congestion in the area and spurred efforts to finish the final two miles of the parkway and its interchanges.

The current federal-state construction program has four phases. When the first two are done in late 2010, drivers will have a direct route to I-95 through the Engineering Proving Ground. Later phases will expand access.

Phase 1: Construction of a four-lane parkway between Rolling Road and Fullerton Road that will provide direct access to I-95.

Phase 2: Construction of a partial cloverleaf interchange at Rolling Road and the Engineering Proving Ground entrance, plus extension of Boudinot Drive to provide an on-ramp to the southbound parkway.

Phase 3: Relocation of Hooes Road and Rolling Road, plus improvements to the Franconia-Springfield Parkway interchange and the Fairfax County Parkway. This is scheduled to be done by the end of 2012.

Phase 4: Extension of Boudinot Drive at the Fairfax County Parkway and construction of a loop ramp. This is scheduled to be done in mid-2011.

[froggie]

Viewing of that was part of the recent D.C. area meet...

[Alex]

Viewing of that was part of the recent D.C. area meet...

Let us know when someone posts some photos, I am interested to see its progress...

[froggie]

That part was a drive-by tour, since there weren't (and still aren't) any good places to pull over to get photos.  Same deal with the HOV connections at the Springfield Interchange...

[Alps]

I'll have a few Fairfax Co. Parkway photos to put up, but as Froggie said, they're drive-by photos out the window.

[froggie]

WTOP is reporting that the last segment of Fairfax County Pkwy (mentioned in the last 5 posts) opened today.  If not beforehand, I should have a chance to check it out this weekend.

[froggie]

The new segment is indeed open, as is the new interchange that will connect to Rolling Rd and the future NGA headquarters on the Engineering Proving Ground.  The interchange at Fullerton Rd is still under construction with the exception of the on-ramp onto the southbound parkway which is open.  The ramp from SB 95 to the northbound Parkway is still closed for reconstruction.  Work on the west end, which will add a local road overpass and reconfigure the ramps at Franconia-Springfield Pkwy (SR 7900) is not yet under contract (or if under contract, has not yet begun).

[iwishiwascanadian]

Has a plan been finalised for direct access to I-395 from Mark Center without using Seminary Road yet?

[froggie]

Nope.  It was studied, but no concensus was reached.  VDOT has agreed to study it further, as long as the city pays for it (and they are, along with a Federal grant to cover half the cost).

The problem with the earlier alternatives was that they either didn't provide direct access (something Fairfax County didn't like), they impacted the adjacent Winkler Nature Preserve (something the city didn't like), or they didn't do enough to accommodate traffic (something NOBODY liked).

[froggie]

Expanding on my recent post in the Wilson Bridge thread, Google added a fairly extensive area of imagery from 8/29/10 (just a month ago) covering a large part of the DC metro area.  Amongst the road-related things one can check progress on (mostly Virginia, but a few DC/Maryland):

- I-95/495 Beltway construction at VA 241/Telegraph Rd (including the new Outer Loop ramps just opened last week).
- HOV ramp construction at the Springfield Interchange (I-95/395/495).
- I-495 Beltway HO/T lane construction.
- Construction of the Silver Line (between I-66/East Falls Church and VA 267/Wiehle Ave).
- Construction on Mulligan Rd (northeast side of Ft. Belvoir, replacing the access lost when the base shut down public access to Beulah St).
- Construction on the last leg of the Fairfax County Pkwy (SR 7100, mainline lanes opened last week), and nearby related construction of the new NGA headquarters on the Engineering Proving Ground.
- Construction on the I-95 widening project between SR 7100 and VA 123.
- Completion of I-66 widening out to US 29/Gainesville.
- Completion of 2 of the roundabouts on US 50 near Gilbert's Corner (but, alas, not Gilbert's Corner itself).
- InterCounty Connector (ICC/MD 200) construction.
- Completion of interchange improvements on I-95/495 at Branch Ave/MD 5 (namely the flyover from the Inner Loop to SB MD 5).
- Construction on the 11th St Bridge project in DC.
- Construction on 2 new streetcar lines in DC, one on South Capitol and Firth Sterling Ave SE near Bolling AFB, the other on Benning Rd and H St NE.

[iwishiwascanadian]

Nope.  It was studied, but no concensus was reached.  VDOT has agreed to study it further, as long as the city pays for it (and they are, along with a Federal grant to cover half the cost).

The problem with the earlier alternatives was that they either didn't provide direct access (something Fairfax County didn't like), they impacted the adjacent Winkler Nature Preserve (something the city didn't like), or they didn't do enough to accommodate traffic (something NOBODY liked).

When I was down in the area for a college road trip in July, I stayed at the Hilton in Mark Center and while the nature preserve is nice and all, it seems like the ideal location to access I-395.  The whole complex that they're building out there seems quite nice.   

[WillWeaverRVA]

Noticing that the old white-bordered VA 401 reassurance shields on Van Dorn St have been replaced with newer white-bordered ones.

[froggie]

There are other alternatives that still provide I-395 HOV access yet do not disturb the preserve.  It's these that will likely be studied in this new round.