Transportation
Since 1998, Loudoun County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) have been working together to provide roadway safety improvements along U.S. Route 15, specifically in the area between Leesburg and the Maryland State Line at Point of Rocks. Per the jointly approved U.S. Route 15 Safety Improvements Project, one of the focus areas will be safety improvements for the Village of Lucketts.
Recently, VDOT revived the project by selecting a consultant to develop the preliminary design. Design will follow the 2006 concept plan approved by the Lucketts-area citizens and Loudoun County. Through the preliminary design phase, the consultant will perform an updated survey, collect traffic data and complete a traffic analysis, and develop the preliminary design to current standards.
A public information session is anticipated to be held to update the citizens in the summer 2011.
Potholes
If you have concerns about specific roadway conditions, like potholes or dangerous ditches brought on by all of the rainy weather of late, call 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367-7623).
Potential Road Closure
There may be a long road closure of Edwards Ferry Road at the Battlefield Parkway intersection from June 20 to August 19 to speed up work on opening two lanes of the new Battlefield Parkway. Contact Renee LaFollette, Deputy Director of Capital Projects at rlafollette@leeburgva.gov or at 703-737-6071 for more information about this potential road closing.
VDOT Project Status
Maintenance VDOT is preparing to begin repaving operations throughout the region. Sections of a number of Loudoun primary and secondary roads are included.
Preliminary Engineering Projects
Route 15 North - Plan for Lucketts Safety Initiatives – Project reinitiated with consultants updating traffic and survey data. Construction remains unfunded.
Route 7 – Operational Improvements Potomac View Road to Augusta Drive – Plans are being finalized for submission to VDOT and appropriate agencies; construction bid process planned for Spring, 2011. County and VDOT staff to meet to discuss outstanding issues with design elements.
Route 7 – East Market Street to South King Street [Sycolin Road Overpass Only] – After briefing the Leesburg Town Council and Board of Supervisors at a joint meeting in October, the scope of the project has been reduced to include only the Sycolin Road overpass. The consultant has been given direction accordingly. The anticipated cost is between $23-25 million. The project has been included on the illustrative project list developed as part of the recent transportation initiatives at the State level.
Route 7 Climbing Lane/West Market Street to Route 9 – The project was presented at the Shenstone community’s annual HOA meeting on March 9, 2011. The preliminary field inspection was held at VDOT’s March Project Day, and VDOT’s value engineering process was conducted March 22-23, 2011. Work on the NEPA document has been initiated and is anticipated to be complete by this summer. VDOT expects to hold its design public hearing in fall, 2011.
Route 7/659 Interchange Design (County Project) – Staff and the consultant are moving forward with the NEPA document. Additionally, the project has been included on the illustrative project list developed as part of the recent transportation initiatives at the State level. As with the Sycolin Road Overpass, staff will be monitoring the draft FY2012-2017 Six-Year Plan (to be released on April 20, 2011) to ensure that the project is shown in the Plan, with funding. In anticipation of the project receiving funding, County and VDOT staff met on March 2, 2011 to discuss options for project delivery. As it stands, the County will administer preliminary engineering to completion with a design-bid-build delivery, VDOT and the County will coordinate roles and responsibilities with respect to the NEPA document (meeting scheduled for March 30, 2011), VDOT will acquire ROW, and the County will administer construction of the project. An action item is being prepared for the April 13, 2011 Finance Committee meeting to authorize funding for final design.
Route 9 – Town of Hillsboro Pedestrian Improvement Project – A work session was held on March 17, 2011 to coordinate the historic and cultural resources component of the NEPA document and to coordinate the Town’s efforts to upgrade its water distribution system. The Virginia Department of Historical Resources (VDHR) has determined that the roundabouts contained within the project constitute an adverse impact on historic resources. An MOA will be required to address the findings of VDHR.
Lovettsville Bike Trail – The draft public hearing plans were presented to the Lovettsville Town Council on March 3, 2011. As currently designed, the project would have a significantly higher construction cost and significantly greater ROW impacts than what the Town can afford or had envisioned. VDOT is investigating options to reduce the project’s footprint and cost, but will need the Town’s concurrence to proceed with additional design.
Evergreen Mill Road/Ryan Road Intersection Improvements – The project scoping was held at VDOT’s March Project Day. The scope will include left- and right-turn lanes on Ryan Road. Work is under way to prepare preliminary field inspection plans.
Riverside Parkway(County Project – Revenue Sharing) – Notice to proceed was issued to the consultant and a kick-off meeting was held with VDOT on October 8, 2010. The consultant has established design parameters for the project and a traffic study has been completed to confirm the lane configuration. This information has been submitted to VDOT for preliminary review. Once VDOT responds to the proposed configuration, the consultant will resume work on the final design. Also, staff plans to meet with Potomac Station HOA to inform them of the preliminary design configuration when it is available.
Allder School Road– (County Project) – Alternatives analysis/design underway. The County and its consultant, Dewberry, have submitted design waivers for MS-19 requirements to both VDOT and County B and D staff. The County has approved the request but the VDOT response is still pending (expected week of March 28, 2011). The request specifically focuses on the Allder School Road bridge crossing of Catoctin Creek. The County is requesting a waiver from VDOT’s design criteria to allow for a smaller bridge structure. Project budget limitations, along with citizen concerns, make this a reasonable alternative to building a bridge structure that is out of scale and character with the surrounding community.
The Woods Road – The location survey for this project continues.
Sands and Taylor Road (CAD TBD) – These two paving projects are fully funded and are moving forward towards construction. Taylor Road is scheduled for completion first, with an anticipated completion date of November, 2012. Sands Road will be completed subsequently as it requires additional survey and design work not necessary for Taylor Road. The current estimate for completion is some time in 2013. A specific completion date will become more firm as the project progresses. In the meantime, the location survey for Sands Road has been initiated.
Ryan RoadShared-Use Path HSIP Application – Application submitted. Awards are expected in the June/July 2011 timeframe.
Traffic Engineering Items
Multi-Way Stop request at Potomac Station Drive – VDOT has stated that multiway stop signs can be put at either end of Binkley Circle or at Malloch and Cardston. A speed study was approved by the State Traffic Engineer’s Office for 45 mph on May 10, 2010. Given the results of the speed study, multi-way stop signs cannot be installed under traffic calming criteria. OTS staff will review the project in light of the speed study and will determine whether multi-way stops can be installed under operational criteria. Traffic counts are currently in progress.
Request by Fox Lee HOA for traffic calming (multi-way stop sign) and pavement markings in their community – VDOT will need a documented speedstudy and community petitions to consider the request further. Awaiting petitionsfrom citizens/HOA.
Shreve Mill Through-Truck Restriction – VDOT requires advertisement of public notice for through-truck restrictions that are being considered to allow for public comment. Advertisements for this through-truck restriction have been posted in local papers.
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Kurtz isn't telling how many added trips her buddy, John Andrews, is planning to add to Sycolin Road with his 4.9 million square foot development. Way to sell out the citizens of Loudoun County, Sally!
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